Rising
by Kalow
Summary: On the eve of the Winter War, Hinamori awakens with new powers and new challenges facing her, challenges that will extend far past Aizen.
1. Troubling Events

Rising

Main Characters: Hinamori and Hitsugaya

Summary: On the eve of the Winter War, Hinamori awakens with new powers and new challenges facing her, challenges that will extend far past Aizen.

Authors Notes: Okay, this is my first work of fanfiction and I'm really excited about it. This story will probably last a while, so be patient. Also, in the future I may or may not be 'borrowing' a few characters from other series if I hit a writers block and can't come up with my own, but rest assured, it will still all be taking place in the Bleach Universe.

Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach or any characters in this story.

Chapter 1 Troubling Events

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Captain Hitsugaya sat in his dimly lit office in the Tenth Division. He looked at the large pile of paperwork in front of him and sighed. After several hours of failed attempts to get Rangiku Matsumoto to do her paperwork, he finally dismissed her and she left to get drunk somewhere. _Just as well,_ he thought. _This work can keep my mind occupied so I don't have to worry about…events_

The last several weeks had been plagued with trouble. The arrancars under Aizen were mobilizing far faster than Seireitei could, and panic was beginning to rise in many shinigami. He himself could not help but worry after that arrancar Shawlong Qufang so badly injured him. He won in the end, but such damage from a low level arrancar was…unexpected. Then there was the kidnapping of the human girl Orihime Inoue at the hands of Aizen. That had been a tremendous blow to them all, that they were unable to stop her abduction right under their noses.

But most of all, he was thinking about _her_. His best friend, the person he had known longer than any other, was now once again unconscious in the fourth division. He was elated when he first learned that Momo Hinamori was awake, but that joy soon soured.

"_Please save Aizen!"_ she said just before the Captain-Commander knocked her out. He cursed Aizen. Cursed him a thousand times over. Momo Hinamori, once a sweet innocent girl with sparkling brown eyes and a smile that could brighten the darkest room, now reduced by Aizen to a pale shell of a person. Her eyes did not contain even a hint of their former glimmer. Her chocolate brown hair was now dull. Her mind was warped by Aizen's lies, deceptions, and betrayal.

Hitsugaya did not know if she ever would even partially recover. It was almost better if she had died on the floors of the central 46. _No!_ he told himself, _don't even think that, she will recover_. It was hard though. Hard to see the most important person in his life suffering like this. Attached to machines just to live. Unohana had told him that this time her unconsciousness was only temporary, but it had already been a week since the Captain-Commander had knocked her out. He was beginning to lose hope that he would ever have his friend back.

He looked back to his paperwork sighing. Just as well to get it over with, he guessed. He bent down to fill out a form, when a knock rang out.

"What is it?" he asked, annoyed at the interruption.

"Important message for Captain Hitsugaya, sir" came the reply from the other side of the door.

Hitsugaya sighed. This likely had something to do with Ichigo's rescue attempt to Hueco Mundo. He thought that he had convinced the Captain-Commander that he had nothing to do with it, but the old man likely still held some suspicion. Renji and Rukia's joining in the unauthorized rescue did not help his situation.

He opened the door, expecting to find a first division messenger instructing him to report to Yamamoto's office at once, but instead there was a member of the fourth division bowing before him.

"Sir, I'm here to report an emergency situation with Vice-Captain Hinamori, She's-" he was cut off by a whoosh past him. Looking up, he realized that Captain Hitsugaya was no longer there.

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Alright, the first chapters over with! Reviews are much appreciated. I'll try to have the next chapter up as soon as possible. 


	2. Panic

Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach

* * *

Rising

Chapter 2 Panic

Hitsugaya raced towards the fourth division medical center. Despite using his fastest Shunpo, it seemed impossibly far away amid the thoughts swirling around in Hitsugaya's head. _What had happened? Had Hinamori taken a turn for the worse? Had she woken up and had a total mental breakdown? What was going on?_ He barely took notice of the area around him. His entire mentality was focused on one thing: Hinamori.

His mind being so preoccupied with thoughts, it was only just then that he noticed that something was off. The air seemed to thicken. It became harder to move. The young captain's eyes widened as he recognized this feeling for what it was: an extremely powerful reiatsu. Captain level easily. Hitsugaya panicked. He didn't recognize this reiatsu, which meant that it was almost certainly not from anyone from Seireitei. Whose was it? Could it be an arrancar? Had Aizen decided to finish Hinamori off and sent one of his minions to dispose of her?

Horrified at the thought, Hitsugaya sped up, desperate to get to Hinamori before any harm could come to her. He reached the doorway to the fourth division medical center and burst inside. The building was in complete carnage. There were several unconscious fourth division workers lying on the floor. Loose papers were scattered over the floor and it appeared that several ceiling lights had burst.

As the roar of the enormous reiatsu shook the building, knocking down ceiling tiles. Hitsugaya hurriedly rushed towards Hinamori's room, hoping, no, praying, that he was not too late. He then felt Captain Unohana's own powerful reiatsu pushing against the unknown reiatsu. It seemed that Unohana was battling with the intruder. For a moment, this fact seemed to ease his fears slightly. Then the panic came back in full force when he realized that her's was being eclipsed by the other reiatsu. At this rate she couldn't win. He reached the doorway with the label Hinamori Momo on it. Feeling the two colossal reiatsus clashing, he drew his sword, took a deep breath, and kicked down the door.

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Sorry for the short chapter, but I felt that this was the best point to stop at, as it will build up suspense. The next chapter will be significantly longer. School is off due to a snow day today, so I will be spending a lot of time working on the next chapter. Hopefully it will be up by tomorrow. Please continue to review; it is very rewarding to read even the smallest comments about my story. 


	3. Equals

I do not own Bleach

* * *

**Chapter 3**

Equals

Previously…

_As the roar of the enormous reiatsu shook the building, knocking down ceiling tiles. Hitsugaya hurriedly rushed towards Hinamori's room, hoping, no, praying, that he was not too late. He then felt Captain Unohana's own powerful reiatsu pushing against the unknown reiatsu. It seemed that Unohana was battling with the intruder. For a moment, this fact seemed to ease his fears slightly. Then the panic came back in full force when he realized that her's was being eclipsed by the other reiatsu. At this rate she couldn't win. He reached the doorway with the label Hinamori Momo on it. Feeling the two colossal reiatsus clashing, he drew his sword, took a deep breath, and kicked down the door._

What he saw shocked him. There was no attacking arrancar. No life-or-death struggle. Just Unohana standing over…

"Hinamori!" Hitugaya shouted.

Hinamori was lying on her bed, a strained look on her face and her body twitching. She was giving off the huge reiatsu he had felt. Unohana stood over her, unleashing her own reiatsu towards Hinamori.

"Captain Hitsugaya!" Unohana yelled over the thunderous reiatsu "quickly, help me stabilize her, release as much reiatsu as you can towards her! If she continues like this she could die!"

Hitsugaya did not need to know what was going on. All he needed to know was that Hinamori was in danger and needed his help. He quickly complied with Unohana's orders and ran to the side of the bed. He was about to let loose his own powerful reiatsu, when, as if a switch were turned off, Hinamori's reiatsu began to shrink. Soon it had reduced itself to its ordinary level, calmly seeping off of Hinamori rather than being violently unleashed.

Unohana fell back into a chair, breathing heavily. "Thank you, Captain Hitsugaya." She said after a few moments.

"Wha-what happened?" Hitsugaya managed to say. With all of his worry, he had only just noticed how tired he was.

Unohana gestured for the young captain to sit down. "Um, by the way, perhaps you should sheath your zanpakuto now." She added. Looking down, he realized that he was indeed still clutching Hyourinmaru. "Sorry" he muttered, quite embarrassed. After returning Hyourinmaru to its sheath, he sat down in the chair next to Unohana, still gazing at the sleeping form of Hinamori.

"So," he said, "what exactly happened?" His mind felt numb, pure confusion spreading through him.

"Well," Unohana said, "I was in my office when my seventh seat came rushing in. He said that he was cleaning Vice-Captain Hinamori's room when he noticed something wrong with her. I immediately went to her room where I found her making faces and muttering in her sleep. Initially I thought that she was simply having a bad dream, but then she began to shake. That was when I sent that messenger to you." She paused for a moment and then got up and walked over to Hinamori's bed.

"But how did she get like-like this?" Hitsugaya stammered. He was anxious to learn what was happening to his friend. "Please, tell me what happened!"

"Calm down Captain Hitsugaya," Unohana replied, "I must check Hinamori's vital signs."

After a few minutes, Unohana walked back over to her chair. "I apologize," she said, "I should have checked her immediately after she returned to normal. With all the excitement, I guess it slipped my mind. Don't worry, she seems to be fine." She added, seeing the look of concern on Hitsugaya's face.

"Now where was I?" she continued, "Oh yes, shortly after sending the messenger to you, Vice-Captain Hinamori began to convulse and her reiatsu skyrocketed. I must confess that I had little idea what was going on. However I did know that her body could not handle such huge quantities of power for much longer without ripping itself to pieces. The only thing I could think to do was to try to neutralize it with my own reiatsu. It wasn't working, so I'm glad that you showed up. It would appear that your presence seems to have a calming effect on her." She finished, giving him a small smile.

"But how?" Hitsugaya pressed on, "How did Momo suddenly gain so much power? I mean, she was a relatively powerful Vice-Captain before, but nothing on this level!"

"I cannot say for sure," Unohana said slowly, "but I think it is very likely that she was always this powerful. Some people are simply born with huge quantities of reiatsu, living proof of this sits right next to me." Continued Unohana, gesturing in his direction, "It would appear though, that unlike you, who gained full access to your powers almost all at once, she merely was using the power that overspilled up until now. Do you understand?"

"Yes," he said nodding, "but that still doesn't really explain why now she's suddenly-"

"Yes, yes, I'm getting to that," Unohana interjected, "In my professional opinion, her sudden access to these powers are a result of several factors. One, the emotional trauma of recent events causing her entire world to come crashing down around her. Two, the physical damage and subsequent fight for her life that occurred after Aizen's attack on her. Three, I think was what truly unlocked her powers, the direct application of an equal reiatsu against her own.

"Equal reiatsu?" Hitsugaya asked "But the only one to apply reiatsu to her was Yama…" He trailed off, his eyes widening in realization.

"It seems that you understand," Unohana said, "yes, it would appear that the reiatsu of miss Hinamori here is on an equal level to Captain-Commander Yamamoto."

Hitsugaya could not believe it. He had always thought of Hinamori as something of a fragile little girl. Even after she had been promoted to Vice-Captain, he had always felt it necessary to constantly keep a close watch on her. The thought of her being on equal grounds of Yamamoto, perhaps the greatest Shinigami in the history of Soul Society, was simply unbelievable. Momo, the little girl he would play with as a child, the person that would always ruffle his hair and call him Shiro-chan, now on an equal level to one of the most powerful beings in the universe? It seemed utterly impossible. And yet it wasn't. He had seen it with his own eyes. But now what…

He suddenly became aware that Unohana was giving his shoulder a light shake. He jumped in surprise. "Sorry," Unohana said, "It just seemed that you dozed off for a moment."

"That's okay," Hitsugaya replied, "but what are we going to do now?"

"Well, I think our best course of action is to-" She was cut off by the arrival of a figure in the doorway.

"What happened here?!" Hitsugaya recognized the voice as belonging to the second division captain Soi Fon. "Are you two alright?" Without waiting for a response she continued, "I'm placing this building and the surrounding area under complete lock-down until we've discovered what caused this."

"That won't be necessary," said Unohana, "We already know who did this."

"Who?" asked Soi Fon.

Hisugaya gestured towards the bed Hinamori was lying in.

There was a pause, and then an angry look appeared on Soi Fon's face. "Are you trying to tell me that Vice-Captain Hinamori did all of this?!" Soi Fon shouted, clearly under the impression that they were playing some kind of joke on her.

"Did what?" a small voice said.

They all looked around and saw Hinamori with her head raised up a little looking at them. She glanced aroung for a moment.

"What happened to the room?"

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Okay, so this is up a bit earlier than expected, but I'm on a roll. I'm now beginning the fourth chapter and it might be released by tommorrow if I get lots of reviews. Thanks to all who have reviewed. 


	4. Awake

I do not own bleach

**Chapter 4**

Awake

They all stared at Hinamori in shock at her sudden awakening. She blinked in confusion, her head just barely tilted up. It seemed to be with great effort that she managed to form the words for her next question.

"Wh-whats going on? Where am I?"

Soi Fon was about to answer when Unohana held out her hand.

"You are in the fourth division medical center Miss Hinamori. I'm afraid you'll have to wait before we can tell you exactly whats happening." Said Unohana. As she finished the door opened and Isane Kotetsu came in.

"Captain Unohana, I was able to safely evacuate the other patients, luckily there were only a few and none are seriously injured. Several members of our division were knocked out, but they should be fine. Have you discovered what hap-" she stopped when she noticed that Hinamori was awake.

"Isane, please take care of Miss Hinamori. I have some issues to discuss with captain Hitsugaya." Said Unohana as she motioned for Hitsugaya to follow her.

"W-wait please, T-Toushiro I-" she broke off with a loud hacking cough. Isane rushed over to her side. Hitsugaya was about to do the same, but Unohana held him back.

"Please refrain from talking Miss Hinamori. I know its frustrating but you're still quite weak right now, so please be patient." Said Unohana in her soothing motherly voice. Hinamori gave a small nod and laid her head back down. "Now please come with me Captain Hitsugaya," Unohana continued, "we have much to discuss."

"I shall be leaving as well." Said Soi Fon. "I will inform the other captains of the situation."

"Very well," Unohana said, "come this way Captain Hitsugaya, we shall discuss this matter in my office."

Grudgingly leaving the room, Hitsugaya followed Unohana down the hallway, passing fourth division members cleaning up the wreckage caused by Hinamori's outburst of reiatsu. Finally reaching Unohana's office, he sat down in the chair across from Unohana's desk. He fidgeted in the chair as he waited for Unohana to explain why he couldn't have stayed with Hinamori.

"I imagine you're wondering why it is that I wouldn't allow you to stay with Miss Hinamori." _Wow, shes good_ Hitsugaya thought, "The reason is that we are unsure of her mental stability right now. You bring out many emotions in her and we need to make sure she can handle them. Otherwise, it could cause her tremendous harm." She continued. "This new level of power she has could help to strengthen her, but it also could cause her to become unstable, do you understand?"

"Yes, I understand," said Hitsugaya, "but when will we reveal to her whats going on? She has to learn eventually."

"I know, but first we must learn what precisely is happening to her ourselves." Unohana replied. "This type of situation is entirely unprecedented and it is imperative that we get a clear understanding of it."

Before Hitsugaya could inquire further, there was a loud knock on the door and a distraught looking Isane came running in.

"Please come with me," She said in a rush, "there is a problem with Vice-Captain Hinamori. We just realized that there is still a large amount of damage to her heart and lungs. It would appear that all of her built up reiatsu was interfering with our equipment, but now that she has released so much of it, it is clear that her injuries are much more serious than we thought. She has begun coughing up blood and we are worried about the ability of her heart to keep working. Several healers are working on her but we need your help."

"I see," said Unohana standing up, "Captain Hitsugaya, please stay here for now until we've sorted this out." Hitsugaya was about to object, but Isane beat him to it.

"No, I think that Captain Hitsugaya should come see Hinamori." Isane said.

"Why?" Unohana asked.

Isane lowered her gaze. "Because he might not have another chance."

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That's it for this chapter. Thanks to everyone who reviewed. Please continue reviewing. 


	5. Reflection

I do not own bleach

**Chapter 5**

Reflection

Momo Hinamori walked through an endless grove of plum trees. Each tree was about 8 meters high and filled with small pinkish-purple fruits. The ground beneath her was covered in cool green grass. This was her inner world. Or at least she thought it was. How could it be after what had happened earlier? Surely it couldn't have merely gone back to normal. It had only happened an hour ago…

"Tobiume!" She called out. "Tobiume!" Momo walked through the grove of trees. She was alone. So utterly alone. Whenever she had come here in the past, Tobiume was always there, right next to her. But now she was truly alone. What had happened? Had Tobiume abandoned her? Was Tobiume ashamed of what she had become? She sat against a tree and wept.

_After lying helplessly against the tree for what seemed like hours, Momo got up and walked over to a small puddle, gazing into it at her sorry state. It was then that she started to feel strange. She felt as if there was someone tickling her stomach. She began to feel tingly all over. Suddenly her skin seemed to burst into flames. She shrieked and screamed as she was totally engulfed in the flames, shutting her eyes tight, waiting until she burned to death. After a few moments she realized then that these were no ordinary flames and opened her right eye just a crack. Instead of burning yellow and orange, they were a bright pink. On top of that there was no pain, despite her being completely covered in it._

_She slowly opened her eyes and looked down. She was covered head to toe in the pink flames, but neither her nor her clothes burned. She looked into her reflection in the puddle and realized that she had changed. She noticed that she actually looked quite beautiful this way. She wondered if she'd stay this way long enough to show Matsumoto, she'd be so jealous. She giggled at the thought._

_Feeling dizzy all of a sudden, she reached her hand out to steady herself against one of the plum trees. As soon as she touched it, however, the tree burst into the same pink flames. Her eyes widened in horror as the tree seemed to let out a long pained scream. She backed away in fear, only to bump into another tree. This one also burst into flames and screamed. Momo did the only thing she could think to do. She ran. She ran as fast as she could, but the flame from her body spread along the grass with every footstep, and one after another, the plum trees ignited. She fell down. Looking up, she found herself now completely surrounded by the burning trees, their screams echoing in her ears._

"_Tobiume!!!" she screamed in terror. "Tobiume please!!! Help me!!!"_

Momo flinched at the memory. It had only been an hour since her entire inner world had burned around her. Now it was as normal as ever. She sighed and climbed up into one of the plum trees. Things just didn't make sense.

She wasn't sure of any thing anymore. Nothing made sense. How was it possible for Captain Aizen to do such horrible things? She couldn't believe it. If she couldn't trust Captain Aizen, who could she trust? Unohana had explained everything to her the first time she'd woken up. How Aizen had been deceiving them all these years. How he had manipulated all of soul society and joined the hollows. So many terrible things he'd done, but she simply couldn't believe it. The Captain Aizen she knew was always so kind and gentle, how could he possibly even be capable of it?

But she knew he was guilty of those things. It wasn't just her that had been hurt. Hitsugaya, Renji, the ryoka boy Kurosaki, Captain Komamura, Rukia, the list was simply too long to ignore. By all logic, those things were unforgivable. There was no mistaking that Aizen had done those things. Yet despite all of this, she continued to cling to her stubborn belief that Ichimaru had forced him to do it. Momo hated herself for it, but she couldn't accept that Captain Aizen, the man who she'd based her whole world around, could be so evil.

"Whatcha thinkin' about Momo?"

Momo gave a startled cry and almost fell off of the tree branch she was sitting on, only holding on by one arm.

"Tobiume! Don't scare me like that!" She said.

"Sorry, but you should pay more attention while you're climbing trees." Tobiume replied with a slight giggle.

"Whatever, just help me up." Momo muttered.

Tobiume reached down and pulled Momo back up. Finally catching her breath from the surprise, Momo looked at Tobiume. Tobiume was a mirror image of Momo. Well, almost. Instead of wearing her hair in a bun like Momo, Tobiume wore hers loose and slightly messy. Rather than the black shinigami uniform, she wore a light blue yukata. Her eyes were the most different. Instead of Momo's innocent soft brown eyes, Tobiume's eyes were a bright pink that sparkled with mischief.

"So whats been up with you lately?" asked Tobiume with a slight smirk (quite an unnatural look on what was essentially Momo's face.)

"What do you think? I've been here the entire time! And where were you all that time? Do you know what happened earlier?" Momo managed to say, tears welling up in her eyes.

Tobiume noticed this and her expression softened considerably. "Calm down Momo." She said quietly.

"Calm down? Calm down?! How can I possibly calm down after what happened earlier?! Surely you must have noticed it too!" She cried.

"I know Momo, it was more than a little confusing for me too y'know." Tobiume said.

"What happened? Why did it happen? And how is every thing back to normal?" Momo asked.

"The answer is simple. You are an extremely powerful girl Momo. It was only a matter of time until your true power was awakened. You have subsisted all of this time on the mere residue of that power and still became a Vice-Captain." Tobiume paused for a moment, "When you were betrayed by Aizen your entire world came falling down around you. You could say that that, along with Yamamoto's reiatsu being used on you, cracked the cocoon to your true power. When that happened, I knew I had to leave you alone until you could emerge as a butterfly, so to speak." Tobiume finished with a small smile.

"But what can I possibly do with so much power?" Momo asked.

"Isn't it obvious?" Tobiume replied. "You must use that power to defeat Aizen."

"No!" Momo shouted. "Captain Aizen never meant to hurt me! Ichimaru is manipulating him! He could never do those things on his own!"

"Momo, you know that's not true, even if you tell yourself otherwise. You have never seen the real Aizen, but I have. I'm sorry you have to see this, but this is the only way for me to open your eyes. You must see things from my perspective." Tobiume said.

_The world seemed to dissolve around her. The next thing she knew, she was looking up at two figures. She realized with a jolt that they were her and Aizen._

_"Thank you Hinamori." Aizen said. "Truly, thank you. Goodbye."_

_Momo watched in horror as Aizen's sword went through her chest. She fell down as the sword was withdrawn. She saw her own blank and unfocused eyes as her body lied in a pool of blood. Her gaze moved back towards Aizen, as he and Ichimaru walked out the doorway. It was then that another figure arrived._

_A panting Hitsugaya stood at the bottom of the steps._

_"Hello Hitsugaya." Aizen said._

_"Aizen! Is that really you, are you really Aizen?" Hitsugaya asked._

_"Of course it is, although you are back earlier than expected." Aizen said with a glance at Ichimaru._

_"Sorry," Ichimaru said, "I guess Izuru's diversion wasn't good enough."_

_"What are you two talking about? Wheres Hinamori?" Hitsugaya demanded._

_"I wonder." Aizen said._

_There was a whoosh and Hitsugaya was standing over her body._

_"Hinamori…" His eyes were wide with shock and horror._

_"Oh I'm sorry, I didn't mean to surprise you. I should have chopped her up an hidden the pieces." Aizen said._

_"Aizen… all of this time, you've been deceiving us. How could you do this? Hinamori looked up to you and joined the Shinigami just to be useful to you." Hitsugaya said._

_"I know, that's why I pressed to have her as my subordinate. Remember, admiration is the emotion furthest from understanding." Aizen said._

_At this, Hitsugaya drew his zanpakuto and activated his bankai, growing great wings of ice. He tried to attack, but Aizen suddenly was behind him, a bloody sword drawn, as Hitsugaya fell down in a bloody heap._

The world dissolved again. Momo was back in the plum tree with Tobiume.

"So," said Tobiume, "Do you still think that Aizens being controlled by Ichimaru?"

Momo hung her head, tears in her eyes, "No" she said. How could she have been so foolish all this time, not seeing what an evil monster Aizen was. On top of that, Hitsugaya was hurt because he was trying to protect her from him, even after she had accused him of killing Aizen.

"What do I do Tobiume?" she whispered.

"Take this new power you have and develop it," Tobiume replied, "do not rest until you can make him pay for what he's done to you."

"I will," said Momo, "I will make Aizen sorry for what he's done."

_"Momo…"_ a voice echoed all around them.

"Who's that?" asked Momo.

_"Momo, please. Please wake up Momo."_ The voice continued.

"Someone who cares about you," Tobiume said with a smile, "If you care about him, you should wake up."

"Thank you, Tobiume." Momo said as the world around her dissolved and she opened her eyes.

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Okay I'm just going to clear a few things up. First, you'll noticed that I referred to her as 'Momo' instead of 'Hinamori' in this chapter because she was in her own inner world. Also, that flashback part with Aizen was from Tobiume's point of view. You'll also notice that I changed the dialogue there to make the story run more smoothly. Thanks to everyone who reviewed! Keep it up! 


	6. Together

I do not own Bleach

**Chapter 6**

Together

Previously…

_"Momo…" a voice echoed all around them._

_"Who's that?" asked Momo._

_"Momo, please. Please wake up Momo." The voice continued._

_"Someone who cares about you," Tobiume said with a smile, "If you care about him, you should wake up."_

_"Thank you, Tobiume." Momo said as the world around her dissolved and she opened her eyes._

Gazing upwards, Hinamori saw Hitsugaya standing over her with his eyes closed and holding her hand.

"Toushiro…" she said.

Hitsugaya's eyes snapped open. Hinamori noticed that there were tears in his eyes, but they were soon replaced with joy as he realized that Hinamori was awake.

"Momo…" was all he could say, but there was nothing more that needed to be said as they gazed into eachothers eyes. They simply looked at eachother for several minutes until Hinamori realized that there was someone else in the room. She looked over and saw Unohana standing behind Hitsugaya. She gave her a smile and walked forward.

"Welcome back Miss Hinamori, you had us all quite worried. It appears that your latent powers were blocking us from healing a portion of your wounds all this time. We were able to heal it, but you went unconcious before we finished."

Hitsugaya nodded, still not taking his gaze off of Hinamori. "We-we thought that you had gone back into a coma."

As Hinamori looked up into Hitsugaya's eyes, she did not even notice Unohana summon Isane Kotetsu to examine her. After a few minutes of examination, Isane said that Hinamori was in relatively good condition considering all that she had been through and brought some pillows to help Hinamori to sit up.

"Umm…Captain Unohana," Hinamori said, "may I speak to Tou- I mean Captain Hitsugaya for a minute?"

After a pause Unohana replied, "Yes, I think that is okay." She motioned for Isane to leave the room with her. After the door closed, Hinamori took a deep breath as she prepared for what she was about to say.

"Toushiro," she began, "I…I love you." Hitsugaya's eyes widened. So did her's. That's not what she meant to say! She meant to apologize for believing Aizen's word over his! She didn't really feel that way about him, did she?

She hastily attempted to rephrase herself. "Err, wha-what I meant to say was, well, err, uh… I-I didn't actually mean-I mean sort of but not-I mean yes, but-" she was cut off by a kiss from Hitsugaya. Her eyes widened in surprise, but they then slid shut as she kissed him back. She knew now. She did love him. She hadn't really realized it until that moment, but it was now clear to her that she undeniably did love him. They kissed eachother for what seemed like an eternity of bliss and happiness before he slowly broke away.

"I love you too Momo." He said, his teal eyes staring into her soft brown ones.

Tears suddenly welled up in Hinamori's eyes and she embraced Hitsugaya. "I'm so sorry," she whispered, "I'm sorry I believed Aizen, I'm sorry that I didn't believe you, I'm sorry I didn't realize how I felt towards you for so long."

Hitsugaya ran his fingers through her dark brown hair and soothingly whispered, "Its okay, Momo. You don't need to apologize for anything. We were all fooled by him, you have nothing to be ashamed of."

Hinamori leaned back against the pillows on the bed, tears still in her eyes but a smile on her face. "Thank you, Shiro-Chan."

Hitsugaya opened his mouth to tell her not to call him shito-chan but he was too happy, so he simply smiled back. Nothing could lessen the serenity of this moment.

Hinamori paused for a moment, and then said, "I'm hungry. Can I have something to eat?"

Well, it was still a pretty nice moment.

* * *

Okay, I was going to wait another day before reviewing but several good turns of fate put me in a really good mood today. First I got elected as both 'class brain' and 'biggest ego' for the school yearbook. Then I got assigned to a top position in my school's model U.N. And then, I was chosen as co-owner of a Momo Hinamori fanclub. I took all of these as signs that I should write another chapter of this, so I did. 

Thank you to Merciless Ruby, CallMeNicole, Okibimaru, ccccookie, Figure Skater Bethany, and Contrasting-Death for reviewing. Your reviews are immensly appreciated. Please continue reviewing. If I receive 10 reviews in the next 24 hours, I'll write over 2,000 words for the next chapter.


	7. Friends

I do not own bleach.

Chapter 7 Friends 

Izuru Kira and Rangiku Matsumoto were lying in cots in an extra room of the fourth division. Being some of her dearest friends, they were immediately informed of the current situation. They had arrived shortly after the chaos that shook the building the previous evening. They were met by a very shaken Isane Kotetsu who told them to wait there and then promptly raced back to Hinamori's room. They waited for nearly an hour before being informed by a grim-looking Isane that Hinamori had gone back into a coma, this one even deeper than her first, and that it was unlikely that she would ever wake up. Kira went pale and looked as if he was going to faint. Matsumoto's eyes filled with tears. One of their best friends was essentially dead.

They asked to see her, but Isane told them to go back to their divisions as it would not be until morning that they would be able to see Hinamori. They refused to leave, so Isane told them to rest in the only room still intact after the earlier disturbance. After giving them each cots and blankets, she told them to rest until morning. They lied down but they did not go to sleep. They were too deep in thought.

Izuru was full of guilt. He thought about how this was all his fault. How if not for him, Captain Hitsugaya would have been able to protect her. He had foolishly believed Ichimaru when he said that no harm would come to Momo. Now she would sleep forever until her body wasted away because of him.

Matsumoto was filled with sadness. She attempted to remain hopeful, but it was difficult. She thought about her captain, and the love he felt for Momo that he himself probably didn't realize. Now it seemed that they would be kept apart forever.

After several hours of these thoughts, a knock came on the door. Captain Unohana walked in. The two Vice-Captains sat up, eager for news on Hinamori's condition and at the same time afraid about what that news may be. They then noticed a smile on Unohana's face.

"Hinamori is awake." She said.

"Is it true? She's really awake?!" Kira said, overjoyed that his friend was okay and that he would not have to live with the guilt of having caused this all of his life.

"This is wonderful." Matsumoto said, tears of joy filling her eyes.

Unohana smiled at them before continuing, "There is something that must be discussed."

"What is it?" asked Kira.

"Do you two know what that disturbance earlier was," she asked. The two of them shook their heads.

"That was the Reiatsu of Vice-Captain Hinamori. As it turns out, her true power has not yet been tapped into until now. It is too early to be certain, but I would estimate that her current power level is about equal to Captain-Commander Yamamoto." She said.

Kira and Matsumoto's eyes widened at this. Momo equal to the greatest shinigami in all of soul society? It was incredible. This was the most amazing thing any of them had heard of.

Unohana continued, "Furthermore, I am pleased to tell you that Miss Hinamori has accepted the fact of Aizen's betrayal." The three were astounded. Hinamori had made so much progress in such a short amount of time. They may soon have their old friend back.

"However," Unohana said, "We do have several concerns."

"Concerns about what?" Kira asked.

"First of all, I would like to keep the news of Miss Hinamori's new powers quiet. Only you two, the captains, Isane, and my third, fourth, and seventh seats will know about this. This is to ensure that she will experience as little stress as possible, but it is also for her protection. If her new powers become common knowledge in Soul Society, Aizen may find out. If that happens, he will almost certainly attempt to have her killed before she can develop her powers to the point where she's a threat to him." Unohana said.

The two exchanged shocked looks. Hinamori had just begun to recover, and already she was in danger of Aizen.

"It is for this reason that I would like at least one of you to accompany Miss Hinamori at all times. This will help ensure her protection, but with luck being around her friends will help her be able to get back to her old self more quickly." She said with a smile.

Kira and Matsumoto agreed; they would all gladly protect Hinamori with their lives.

"Also," Unohana said, "I must inform you that myself, Isane, and my seventh seat will be leaving tomorrow on a special mission. We will not be back for some time, so all responsibilities for Miss Hinamori will be passed on to my third and fourth seats. They will be taking care of her."

The two nodded in understanding. "May we see her in the morning?" Matsumoto asked.

"It will be up to her, but I'm sure that she will be overjoyed to see her friends again." Unohana said. "Now please get some rest."

The two immediately complied and fell asleep. Unohana closed the door and went to check on Hinamori. Opening the door to her room she saw that Hinamori had fallen asleep. Hitsugaya sat sleeping in a chair next to her, his arm being held by Hinamori like a teddy bear. Unohana smiled. Young love was so sweet.

Okay, it seems that my attempt to convince you all to give me 10 reviews in 24 hours has failed, so I am trying a different approach. Whoever gives me the best review will have their user name made into an anagram for the name of the mysterious fourth seat of the fourth division. Hurry and write good reviews, as the next chapter cannot occur until I have a name for this character.

Also, just to clear things up, there's nothing going on between Kira and Matsumoto. They only shared a room because Hinamori's reiatsu damaged all of the other rooms, although I have to give Kira credit for not taking advantage of the situation.

In addition, you may have noticed that Renji is absent as he is currently in Hueco Mundo (I accidentally wrote the first half of the chapter with him in it). I am attempting to keep this concurrent with the main story line.

Also, did you notice that yesterday was Valentines Day and that yesterday's chapter was about Hinamori and Hitsugaya professing their love for one another? I didn't even notice that while I was writing it! Talk about coincidences!

Thanks to everyone who has reviewed, please continue.


	8. Recovery

I do not own Bleach

**Chapter 8**

Recovery

It was early morning and the sun had just risen. Kira and Matsumoto stood outside Hinamori's room. Unohana had said that they may come in to see her, but that she would first have to do her daily examinations and care of Hinamori. They were elated the night before, but after thinking about it the two were now worried about what condition their friend would be in when they saw her. They knew that she was in very bad shape the last time she had woken up and were concerned that she may be even worse now. Finally, Unohana opened the door and gestured for them to come in. They took a deep breath, bracing themselves for what they might see, and walked inside.

What they saw surprised them. Hinamori was sitting up, eating a bowl of broth. She was very pale and horribly thin, but when she looked up at them there was a bright smile across her face. Her eyes sparkled with happiness. They knew that they truly had their old friend back.

"Izuru! Rangiku!" she said happily, "Its great to see you again!" She made to get up but Unohana stopped her.

"You know you're not well enough to get up yet Miss Hinamori." She said.

"But I feel much better," Hinamori insisted, "and can't I eat some real food?" she said, gesturing at the bowl of broth.

"I'm glad you're feeling better," said Unohana with a smile, "but your body is still weak and we can't risk you injuring yourself. As for the food, you haven't eaten anything in months and we need to make sure that your stomach can handle it." She began to leave the room. "Don't worry though," she said, "I'm sure that you will be well enough to walk and eat solid foods soon enough." She gave them a small smile and left.

She sighed, "Oh well. So Izuru, Rangiku, what have you been doing lately? Working on defeating Aizen?"

The two glanced at each other. They knew that this was a dangerous topic to discuss in front of Hinamori. They did not want to cause her further emotional harm. Izuru attempted to dodge the question.

"Oh no, its just been paperwork and boring stuff like that." Matsumoto said.

Kira nodded, "There's nothing but technical things going on. Don't worry about it."

"Izuru, Rangiku, please. I need to know what's going on." Hinamori said, "I want to help fight Aizen. I think that's why I have these powers now. Please tell me the truth about what's been happening while I was unconscious."

"Well," began Kira, "what do you know so far?"

"Practically nothing," Hinamori said, "only that he was the one arranging Rukia Kuchiki's execution so that he could steal something from inside her soul and that he joined the hollows. They wouldn't tell me anything else."

"And do you know what was stolen from Rukia's soul." Matsumoto asked. Hinamori shook her head.

"It was an item known as the Hougokyu," Kira said, "It is an object that blurs the line between a shinigami and a hollow. Aizen has been using it to create hollow-shinigami hybrids called arrancars. He also intends to use it to make the kings key and murder the spirit king." Hinamori's eyes widened.

"A month ago myself, Captain Hitsugaya, and several others went as an advanced force to aid Kurosaki and his friends against the arrancar." Matsumoto said.

"Kurosaki?" said Hinamori "You don't mean-"

"Yes," Matsumoto interjected, "the ryoka. They're on our side now. Anyways while we were there, one of Kurosaki's friends was kidnapped by Aizen and taken to Hueco Mundo. The Captain-Commander initially thought that she'd betrayed us and ordered us all back. Renji and Rukia Kuchiki then went back and joined Kurosaki in a rescue mission to Hueco Mundo."

"Are you saying that Renji is in Hueco Mundo?" Hinamori asked. Kira and Matsumoto nodded their heads. Tears came to her eyes. Matsumoto saw this and quickly comforted her.

"Don't worry Momo, Renji's tough. I'm sure he'll be fine." She said.

"I know, it's just that Aizen has been doing such horrible things all of this time and I only just realized it." She said.

"Its okay, Momo." Kira said. "We don't blame you for anything. We're your friends and we'll always be there for you."

Hinamori smiled at them and wiped the tears from her eyes. "Thank you Izuru. Thank You Rangiku."

"It's no problem," said Matsumoto, "now finish your broth and get some rest. We all want you to be better as soon as possible."

Hitsugaya sat outside Unohana's office. He was worried. He knew that Unohana and Isane would be taking part in the mission to Hueco Mundo. With them gone, who would take care of Hinamori? He had requested to speak to Unohana about this. After waiting some time, Unohana opened the door to her office. Inside were two people standing to the side of Unohana's desk. One was a blonde man with glasses and the other was a shorter girl with medium length brown hair. He recognized the blonde man as Iemuro Yaruchika, the 3rd seat of fourth squad. He did not recognize the other one.

"Hello Captain Unohana," he said, "I have several questions regarding the care of Hinamori in your absence. By the way, may I know your name?" he asked the short brown haired girl.

The girl bowed. "Greetings Captain Hitsugaya. I am Ruby Nicontrabetharox." She said.

Unohana walked forward. "Iemuro and Miss Nicontrabetharox are both aware of the current situation with Miss Hinamori." She said "Iemuro will be doing mainly administrative duties in my absence, so Miss Nicontrabetharox will be taking care of Miss Hinamori. Do not worry Captain Hitsugaya, she is a very capable healer and is fully aware of the situation. She will take good care of Miss Hinamori." This eased Hitsugaya's worries somewhat, but he still had several concerns.

"What will we do for security?" He asked. "Her new powers may attract danger."

"Vice-Captains Kira and Matsumoto have both agreed to help guard her. If we're lucky their presence will also help keep her calm and allow her to heal more quickly as well. I doubt that her powers will go out of control again, but just in case I'd like you to stay with her as much as possible. Your presence is very calming to her and it may prevent anything like that from happening again." Unohana replied.

"Very well." Captain Hitsugaya said. "If that's all then I would like to go back to Hinamori's room."

"Actually there is one more thing, Iemuro, Miss Nicontrabetharox, you may leave for your assigned duties now." Unohana said. After Iemuro and Ruby left, Unohana continued. "We must discuss when Hinamori will begin to train with her new powers."

"Isn't it a little early to be thinking about that?" Asked Hitsugaya.

"Not if we want her to be able to face Aizen in time for the Winter War." Unohana said.

"What?!" Hitsugaya said in surprise. "Hinamori can't fight Aizen! She'd be killed for certain! How can you even think of-"

"Calm down, Captain Hitsugaya." Unohana interrupted. "Miss Hinamori is now one of the strongest beings in the universe. Yamamoto is the only other person we know of who would stand a chance against him."

"Then why not let Yamamoto fight him?" said Hitsugaya angrily.

"Because it would be foolish to rely on only one person in such an important battle." Unohana said firmly. "I know you are very protective of Miss Hinamori, but you must realize that it is very necessary for her to develop these new powers she has. Even if we were to attempt to keep her away from battle, she may very well be forced to take part. Besides, I doubt we could prevent her from fighting if she really wanted to, and I know that she has a strong desire for revenge against Aizen. Therefore, I want you to make a plan for her training when she is healthy."

"Fine." Said Hitsugaya, a hint of anger still in his voice, as he walked out of the room.

It was shortly before noon. Hinamori had awoken from her nap and was now eating another bowl of broth. Kira silently watched her eat as Matsumoto slept in her chair. After finishing it she asked for another bowl of it. Kira sighed as he left to get another bowl. That was her fifth bowl in the last half hour! This increased appetite was likely due to her increased reiatsu. For Shinigami more power meant more hunger. As he brought her another bowl, there came a knock on the door. Matsumoto groggily woke up.

"Come in." Kira said, handing Hinamori her broth.

The door opened and Unohana walked in followed by Ruby. Unohana gave them a smile.

"Good morning," she said, "I just came to inform you that I will be leaving soon and to introduce you to your caretaker in my absence. This is Ruby Nicontrabetharox, she will be your primary caretaker until I get back. Now if you'll excuse me, I must leave. I'll be back in several days." With that she left the room.

Ruby gave a bow to the three Vice-Captains.

"Hello," said Hinamori, "Its nice to meet you Miss Nico-"

"Please just call me Ruby," she interrupted, "my full name is just too long to constantly say."

"Okay then, hello Ruby. You may call me Momo if you like." Hinamori said brightly.

Matsumoto gave a sleepy grunt to serve as a greeting.

"It's nice to meet you Ruby," Kira said, "But perhaps given the current situation, you should be carrying your zanpakuto."

"Oh right, sorry." Ruby said. "We in fourth squad usually have no need to carry our zanpakutos and I've fallen out of habit of carrying it. I'll take my Kiobimaru here the next time though."

"Excuse me Ruby," said Hinamori, "but may I have more to eat than just broth?"

Ruby eyed the pile of empty bowls next to Hinamori's bed. "I think that it's okay for you to have noodles and rice. When you get better, I'll make you cookies. I make really good cookies. In fact Yachiru Kusajishi has even nicknamed me Cookie."

"Cookie?" Matsumoto said, suddenly fully awake, "What an adorable nickname! I'll call you that from now on!"

"Umm….okay then." Said Ruby nervously.

Okay, I know that this probably wasn't the most exciting chapter, but it was necessary to transition between plot points. As for the name of the fourth seat of fourth division, I just couldn't pick just one person to base it on, so I used everyone who reviewed! Here's a key for what I based the name on:

Ruby (Merciless **Ruby**)- What her friends will call her.

Nicontrabetharox (CallMe**Nico**le, **Contra**stingDeath, Figure.Skater.**Beth**any, Atin**arox**)- What people will formally call her.

Cookie (ccc**cookie**)- What very informal people like Yachiru and Matsumoto will call her.

Kiobimaru (**K**ick**I**nto**O**verdrive101, Oki**bimaru**)- Her Zanpakuto.

Thanks to everyone who's reviewed. Please continue and maybe the next chapter will be up by tomorrow. I promise that the next one will be more interesting. In it we'll finally begin to learn about her new powers.


	9. Leaving

I do not own Bleach

**Chapter 9**

Leaving

It had been three days since Hinamori had woken up and she had shown tremendous improvement. She was more or less her old self again. She was able to take care of herself and eat normal foods. She was no longer weak and tired and had begun to do small chores to pass the time. She was feeling wonderful. She suspected that the sudden improvement was a result of her vast new powers. At this rate she would be released any day now, and she was eager to test her new powers.

But her new powers were not the only thing that was improving her mood. When her and Hitsugaya realized that they loved each other, it was the happiest moment in her life. To make her stay in the hospital more comfortable, Hitsugaya tweaked the rules (He was a captain after all) to bring in a small couch into Hinamori's room. He would bring his captain's paperwork in and fill it out on the couch while she cuddled up against him. It was less efficient than working at a desk, but having Hinamori lying against him and looking up at him with a big smile made it all worth it.

In addition, she was developing a close friendship with Ruby Nicontrabetharox. Kira and Matsumoto were still very good to her and would always be close friends, but she was able to relate more to Ruby. Kira was a boy, so no matter what he did, there would always be some things he simply wouldn't understand. Matsumoto was much older than her and while always friendly, tended to have a much different personality. Ruby though was very similar to Hinamori. She was friendly and kind. She was very understanding and had a strong desire to help people. She even looked somewhat like Hinamori, being about the same height and having only slightly lighter brown hair. Ruby and Hinamori had spent hours talking to each other about their lives and were quickly becoming best friends. They would share stories, discuss their likes and dislikes, and talk about their hopes and worries of the future. Hinamori had even trusted Ruby to know about her new relationship with Hitsugaya.

That evening after dinner, it was jointly decided between Ruby and Iemuro that Hinamori would be released the next day. Hinamori was ecstatic. She would finally be able to return to her old life. Well, not exactly her old life. This time, there would be no Aizen. She would be in charge of not only her life, but of her entire division. Even though she would not be able to begin training with her new powers for several days she was still quite happy knowing that finally she would be to lead her division.

She laid in bed that night thinking about the next day. For the first time in months she would be able to sleep in her own bed. She would be preparing her own meals and would be living in her own apartment. She looked forward to being able to visit her friends and fellow Vice-Captains. She also looked forward to going back to her old division.

She was slightly nervous though. She knew that the infrastructure of the Fifth Division was in ruins. After having their Captain turn out to be the worst traitor in Soul Society history and on top of that have their Vice-Captain in a coma, many had completely lost faith and moved on to other divisions. The third, fourth, sixth, and ninth seats were among those that had abandoned it in favor of other divisions. The division was currently being run by the few seated officers who had decided to stay, but it was dangerously unstable and in complete disarray. It would be up to her to rebuild the Fifth Division and help it to regain it's former glory. She knew it would be a long and difficult job, but that wasn't what was bothering her. What worried her was what her division members would think when she suddenly returned to work. She would be leading the division, and as it's leader it was important to have the respect of her subordinates. But would they have any reason to respect her? Her new powers were being kept a secret. They would only see her as the person supposed to be leading them instead lying weak and helpless in the fourth division. Would they be angry at her for not being there for them? Or worse, would they all pity her and feel like they had to look after her?

Eventually she couldn't take it anymore. She got out of bed and left to go see Ruby. Walking to Ruby's room, she knocked on the door. Ruby promptly answered it.

"Oh, hello Momo. Is something wrong?" She asked.

"I just need to talk to you about some things." Hinamori said quietly.

"It's okay Momo." Ruby said kindly, "Please come in and sit down." Hinamori came in and sat down at the table. "So what's been bothering you Momo?" Ruby asked.

Hinamori took a deep breath, "I'm worried that when I go back to my division no one will accept me. They've all been working hard to rebuild the division and I've just been lying useless the entire time." She said, tears coming to her eyes.

"Momo," Ruby said softly but firmly, "we've already discussed this, you're not useless. Don't ever tell yourself that you are. You were an excellent Vice-Captain. I know you've never realized it, but many people look up to you. You were always one of the most popular Vice-Captains. Many people would go to great lengths just to be in the same division as you. Trust me, most people in your division will be extremely happy to have you back. And if they're not, so what? You'll prove them wrong after you've mastered your new powers."

"Thank you, Ruby. You really are a great friend." Hinamori said.

"It's no problem. Would you like me to walk you back to your room?" Ruby asked

"No, I'll be fine. Thank you so much for everything you've done for me." Hinamori said with a smile before walking out. After walking back to her room and lying down in her bed much happier than before, she fell into a restful sleep.

The next morning she woke up. After getting ready, she went to the front of the medical center where she met up with Ruby, Hitsugaya, Matsumoto, and Kira. Taking a deep breath, she pushed the front doors open and walked out into the outside world.

Thanks to everyone who's reviewed so far. Please continue. Particularly, I'd like your reviews on how I did with developing Ruby as a character and how you like the progression of Momo's romance with Hitsugaya.


	10. A Date

Sorry it took so long to update, I've been quite sick for the past week.

I do not own bleach…yet.

**Chapter 10**

A Date

Hinamori was walking alongside Hitsugaya, Ruby, Kira, and Matsumoto through the cool dark early morning streets towards her apartment. None of them were talking. The morning was quiet and there was nobody on the streets except them. Hinamori was glad. She wanted her return home to be as discreet as possible. They walked slowly through the streets. There was a slight mist hanging in the morning air.

When they finally reached her apartment in the fifth division, Hinamori turned to her friends.

"Thanks for walking me home guys. I really appreciate it. If its okay though, I'd like to be alone for a while." She said.

"Uh, okay then. Bye." Kira said, walking off. Matsumoto also said goodbye and left.

"I'll come to check on you in an hour." Ruby said, "Until then, goodbye Momo."

After Ruby had left Hitsugaya began to speak, "Momo, I was wondering if you might like to go have a picnic in the park with me for lunch today." Hinamori's eyes widened.

"Is this like a date?" she asked.

"Yes, this is a date." Hitsugaya admitted. A huge smile spread across Hinamori's face. Suddenly she came up to him and tightly embraced him.

"Oh Shiro-Chan, I'd love too!" she said, her eyes closed as she nuzzled him. Suddenly Hitsugaya pounded hard on her back with his fist.

"Ouch! Shiro-Chan, that really hur- OH MY GOSH!" She had just looked down and realized that she was holding him so tightly that he had started to turn blue from lack of air. She hastily let go of him and he fell to the floor, gasping for breath.

"Shiro-Chan, I'm so sorry!" she cried as she bent over him.

As the color returned to his face, he slowly got up. "Th-that's alright," he managed to say as he massaged his ribs, "I'm alright."

"Sorry, I guess I'm a lot stronger now," Hinamori said embarrassedly.

"You think?" Hitsugaya mumbled.

"Sorry," Hinamori repeated.

"That's okay, don't worry about it. I'll come here at noon for the picnic. I'll bring the food," Hitusgaya said, "I'll see you then."

"Okay, bye then. Sorry again." Hinamori said. Hitsugaya nodded and walked away.

Hinamori turned her attention back to the door. Finally she would be back home. She was a little nervous. She had been away for so long that she had forgotten what having her own home was like. She took a deep breath and opened the door. She walked in and looked around.

The darkened room was quite gloomy. Dust covered everything. Hinamori walked past the couch and the armchair as she made her way through the house. She walked around the kitchen, bathroom, and bedroom. Opening every closet and cupboard. She sighed. Everything was exactly as she remembered it, but the place seemed so foreign to her. After all of the pain and suffering she had been through, the existence of such a simple home seemed impossible. She sighed as she thought of how she'd might as well clean all of this dust off her house now. She found a rag and began cleaning up the dirty house.

After an hour of cleaning, there was a knock on the door. Hinamori knew that it was Ruby and opened the door. Sure enough, Ruby was standing in the doorway holding a large box.

"Hi Ruby!" Hinamori said

"Hi Momo, I just came to check to see how you were doing. I made cookies for you." Ruby said, gesturing at the box.

"Come in and sit down Ruby," Hinamori said, "I have something to tell you."

Ruby came in and sat down on the couch, placing the box of cookies on the small table in front of the couch. Hinamori sat down next to her.

"So what did you want to tell me?" Ruby asked.

"Toushiro asked me out on a date with him," Hinamori said with a huge smile on her face, barely able to stop herself from jumping up and down on the couch.

"Momo that's terrific!" Ruby said, "This calls for a celebration!" With that she opened the box in front of her to reveal dozens of chocolate chip cookies. She handed one to Hinamori. Hinamori bit into it. It was deliciously sweet and wonderful. She had soon finished it and was reaching for another one when there was a knock on the door. She got up to go answer it. It was Matsumoto.

"Hey Momo! I just wanted to congratulate you on your date with the captain. You two make such a cute little couple!" Matsumoto said.

"Thanks Rangiku, but how did you know that Toushiro and I were going on a date?" Hinamori asked.

"Oh, I stayed back to spy on you two." Matsumoto said casually.

"Rangiku!" Hinamori exclaimed indignantly.

"Relax, its no big deal, I just wanted to see what he wanted to say to you. By the way, it was really cute when you nearly crushed him." Matsumoto said with a wink. Hinamori blushed.

"What? You crushed Captain Hitsugaya?" Ruby asked all of a sudden.

"Oh, hey Cookie! Yeah, Momo went a bit overboard with a hug." Matsumoto said.

"It was an accident." Hinamori mumbled.

"Yeah but it was fun to watch. By the way, do I smell cookies?" Matsumoto asked.

Ruby sighed, "Come over to the couch, I'll give you some, but remember most of them are for Momo." The three walked over to the couch and began talking as they ate the cookies. They had been talking for a while when suddenly Ruby let out a small gasp.

"What is it cookie?" Matsumoto asked.

"It's 11:50," Ruby said, "Captain Hitsugaya will be here in ten minutes!"

"Oh, we'd better put some make-up on you Momo," Matsumoto said, having just pulled out several containers of make-up, seemingly from thin air.

"Make-up?" Hinamori said, "But we're only going on a picnic." But Matsumoto was already busy at work applying the make-up to her. Ruby stepped forward.

"Come on Rangiku, she doesn't want to wear make-up." She said.

"Aww, come on. It would make her look so good." Matsumoto said.

"She looks fine the way she is now." Ruby countered.

"Oh fine." Matsumoto said, crossing her arms.

"We'd better go. See you later Momo! Tell us how it goes!" Ruby said as she dragged Matsumoto out the door.

"Thanks guys!" Hinamori shouted after them.

Only a minute later there was another knock on the door. This time it was Hitsugaya. Hinamori opened the door and stepped out.

"So where are we going for the picnic?" She asked with a big smile.

"There's a park near here. It should be empty right now, so I think we'll go there. By the way, it seems that we forgot this at the medical center." He said, taking a long object out of his cloak.

"Oh, Tobiume! I totally forgot!" Hinamori said, taking her zanpakuto and fastening it at her side.

The two then walked to the park. They found a nice shady tree and spread out a blanket on the ground. They sat down.

"So what did you bring to eat Shiro-Chan?" Hinamori asked.

Hitsugaya smiled and opened the picnic basket, revealing four large slices of watermelon.

"Oooooh, Shiro-Chan! Just like when we were younger!" Hinamori said excitedly.

The two began eating their watermelon. They both felt like gobbling it down as fast as they could, but they wanted this to last as long as possible, so they just looked into eachother's eyes as they nibbled on their watermelon. After a long while, all four slices of watermelon had been eaten.

"Thanks for the watermelon Shiro-Chan," Hinamori said, "It was wonderful." She then moved closer to Hitsugaya and gave a small kiss, "Thank you." With that she lied down in his arms and closed her eyes. She was soon fast asleep.

As he held the sleeping Hinamori in his arms, Hitsugaya smiled as he stroked her beautiful chocolate brown hair, "You're welcome, Momo."

* * *

Sorry it took so long to update, but like I said before, I've been sick this past week with a high fever and several other things I'd rather not describe. Despite this I managed to write this chapter for you, so the least you can do is write a review for it. So please review and thank you to everyone who reviewed the last chapter. 


	11. Duel

I do not own Bleach, which is why I don't eat more foods in sauce. I don't own the series either.

**Chapter 11**

Duel

It was evening and Hinamori was lying in her bed back at her apartment. It felt so nice to be in her own bed again. She wasn't very tired as she had only woken up from her earlier nap just before evening. She smiled to herself as she thought of her date with Hitsugaya. She knew that she would have to get some sleep as tomorrow was a big day. She would be meeting with her remaining seated officers to determine the fate of the Fifth Division. The lack of leadership meant that all of the seated officers' positions had been locked in place. She would have to completely restructure the division. Her ultimate hope was to restore the Fifth Division to what it had been before Aizen's betrayal.

A thought struck her. How would she arrange the meeting? Nobody in the Fifth Division knew she had been released yet. She couldn't believe she had forgotten. What would she do now? She suddenly had an idea. She got up out of bed (she was glad that she hadn't bothered to change out of her Shinigami uniform). She reached for Tobiume. Hitsugaya had told her earlier to always keep Tobiume on hand when she went outside, just in case. She then walked out of her room and through the rest of the apartment before opening the front door and walking out into the cool night air.

She walked a short distance along the side of the apartment building until she reached the apartment that she was looking for. This was the home of her fifth seat, Shingo Kusanagi. Kusanagi was extremely loyal to the Fifth division, as well as to Hinamori. He was the perfect person to consult on this matter. Since his rank did not bring him into direct contact with Aizen often, he was always loyal to her first, even before Aizen's betrayal. There was a light shining through the window. That was good, he was still up. She knocked on the door.

After several seconds, Kusanagi answered the door. It took him a moment for him to properly see who was standing in the dark doorway. When he realized who it was his eyes widened.

"Vice-Captain Hinamori?" was all he could say. Hinamori smiled at him.

"It's good to see you again Shingo," She said.

"When did you get released?" Kusanagi asked.

"Just this morning. Do you mind if I come in? I have several things to discuss with you." Hinamori said to him.

"Yes Ma'am," he said, "We can talk at the table." He walked her over to a small table. "Would you like some tea?" he offered.

"Yes please." Hinamori said, sitting down. Kusanagi went to the kitchen and several minutes later came back with two cups of tea.

"So what did you want to discuss, Vice-Captain?" He said as he sat down and handed Hinamori her tea.

"I'm planning a meeting tomorrow. I need to know how badly the division is doing right now." She said, taking a small sip of tea.

Kusanagi lowered his gaze, "The division is completely in ruins. Two-thirds of the division members have left. Including the two of us, the fifth division only has eight seated officers left. With so few people with authority, we are having serious discipline problems. Some of the lower ranked officers are skipping their work and training. We are also having trouble with funding. The entire division has essentially sunk into anarchy." He said.

Hinamori sat still for a minute afterwards before finally looking up, her eyes filled with determination, "Inform all remaining seated officers that they are to meet tomorrow morning at 9:00 in the main meeting room. Do not tell them that I am back though, understood?" She said.

"Yes Ma'am," Kusanagi said.

Hinamori got up and walked towards the door. She turned around. "By the way," she said with a small smile, "I'm promoting you to third seat, and since I will be acting as captain, that will make you the acting Vice-Captain."

"Th-thank you so much Ma'am." Kusanagi said, amazed at his sudden promotion.

Hinamori nodded, "I'll see you in the morning." With that, she walked off.

The next morning, Hinamori woke to the alarm clock next to her bed. She hurriedly got dressed and prepared herself breakfast. While eating there was a knock on the door. Hinamori answered. It was Ruby.

"Hi Momo! I just wanted to wish you luck for the meeting." She said.

"Thanks Ruby. I'll have to go soon so I can't talk now. Would you like to come over here afterwards for tea?" Hinamori said.

"I'd love to!" Ruby said, "I'll bring cookies!"

"Okay, I'd better go. I'll see you after the meeting. Bye!" Hinamori said, walking off.

When Hinamori had reached the meeting hall, the other seated officers were already there and Shingo Kusanagi was waiting for her outside.

"Are you ready Vice-Captain?" He asked. Hinamori nodded. In truth, she was somewhat nervous, but she kept a calm, businesslike face on and walked into the room. There were so few seated officers left that the seating was merely several folding chairs arranged in a circle.

"Hello everyone," Kusanagi said as he waked to the front, "As you can see, Vice-Captain Hinamori is with us again. She has called this meeting to discuss the future of the division." He gestured for her to speak and sat down.

Hinamori took a deep breath and glanced at the faces around the room before starting. Several faces looked hopeful. A couple looked irritated. But most of them simply looked uncertain of what this new turn of events would bring.

"Hello, its good to be back." Hinamori began, "I've called this meeting to discuss how best to rehabilitate our division. I know that the division has done badly in my absence, but I believe it is not to late to save it. To begin with, all ranks will be filled. That will mean promotions for most of you. Furthermore, all division members will practice strict discipline. We will do all that is in our power to perform our normal duties, in spite of circumstances." She finished.

"And why precisely should we follow you?" Said one person. Hinamori recognized it as Inoo Katori, her seventh seat officer.

Kusanagi jumped up, "Stand down Katori." He said.

Katori snorted, "Oh yeah, sure. We all know that you're the Vice-Captain's little pet Kusanagi, like anyone would care what you think."

"Why you-" Kusanagi began before being stopped by Hinamori's hand on his shoulder.

"Its okay Shingo, sit down," she said quietly. Kusanagi complied. She gave Katori a hard look, "So would you care to explain your reasoning on why you shouldn't listen to me?" She said coldly. She knew that appearing strong in this situation was important in gaining the respect of her fellow division members.

Katori wavered slightly under Hinamori's sudden change in attitude but quickly regained his composure. "You are too weak to lead the division. Both physically and mentally. While we were working our asses off to rebuild the division, you were off in a comfy hospital bed crying over a traitor. We can't possibly rely on you to lead the division. You were never able to actually fight. You were only made a Vice-Captain because you were too dumb to think for yourself. In fact, I challenge you right now to a duel to decide who should be Vice-Captain of this division." There were shocked looks around the room. Such a challenge at a time like this was unheard of.

Kusanagi stood up angrily, "Vice-Captain Hinamori has nothing to prove to scum like you."

Katori opened his mouth to protest but Hinamori spoke first. "I accept your challenge, Inoo Katori. We shall have our duel in the courtyard immediately." She said. Everyone stood up and walked out of the room towards the courtyard.

"Are you sure about this?" Kusanagi said nervously, "Are you really well enough for this yet? Katori is a swordsmanship specialist."

"This is the only way to truly gain the respect of the other division members. Without that respect, its pointless for me to even try to rebuild the division." She said firmly. This was true, but privately she also wanted to test her new power. She knew that her strength, agility, and stamina were now vastly increased and she wanted to see just how much.

They continued towards the courtyard where they walked towards an open area of ground. Katori drew his zanpakuto. Hinamori did likewise. They faced eachother wordlessly. This battle didn't need words. They both settled into their fighting stances.

Katori made the first move. He came down on her with a heavy downward slash. Hinamori easily dodged. He quickly attacked again with an upwards-diagonal slash, but Hinamori's reflexes were so great now it was as if he were moving in slow motion. She dodged easily once again. Enraged at her ease at dodging him, he held his sword tightly in both hands.

"What's the matter, can't even stop my sword? You can't dodge me forever!" he taunted, and with all of his strength aimed a sideways cut that would have decapitated her had she not raised her sword at just that moment, completely blocking the attack. Her stance was not offset an inch by the blow. Katori's eyes widened in surprise, Hinamori smiled. She quickly went on the offensive, attacking with swift and elegant slashes so unlike Katori's rough chops.

To the onlookers, it was impossible to track Hinamori with the naked eye. They were shocked. They had never actually seen their Vice-Captain in a true duel before, but they could now see that she was an extremely powerful fighter. Katori was barely blocking her flurry of attacks.

Hinamori was enjoying herself as she watched Katori struggle, but she wanted to end this soon. Suddenly she had an idea. She concentrated as much of her massive reiatsu as she could into her blade and came at him for one last attack. Katori raised his sword. Hinamori sliced through it as though it had been made of wax. The end of it clattered to the ground. Katori stared in shock at his broken zanpakuto.

Hinamori sheathed her sword. "This duel is over." She declared. She looked at the other stunned officers. "I would like for all of you to find division members that may be suitable for positions as seated officers. Oh and Katori," she said to her defeated opponent, "I'm transferring you to Captain Mayuri as an experiment subject. Goodbye." With that she left for home.

Several hours later, Hinamori was at her house, telling Ruby the story as the two of them drank tea and ate Ruby's delicious cookies.

"That's amazing," Ruby said when Hinamori finished her story, "But you really shouldn't push yourself like that Momo."

"But I wasn't pushing myself," Hinamori protested, "It was easy and I wasn't even tired. It's probably because of my new powers, but I've never enjoyed a battle so much in my life!"

"Okay, okay," Ruby said, "Just don't go joining the Eleventh division. I don't think I could stand visiting you over there."

Hinamori was about to come up with a retort when Ruby's cell phone rang. She quickly answered it. For several minutes she listened while occasionally saying "yes," or "understood."

Finally she put the phone down and looked at Hinamori. "A strike force to Hueco Mundo is returning. They have several arrancars in custody and request that you come to help guard the area when they arrive. You are to report to the First Division headquarters immediately."

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Thanks for all of the reviews. I really appreciate them much more than you probably think, so please, please review more! You know, this was the first real action in the story. Maybe if I get lots of reviews, I'll see fit to put a battle scene in next chapter. 


	12. Meeting

If I owned Bleach this wouldn't be fan-fiction now would it?

**Chapter 12**

Meeting

(Author's Note: I'm skipping several things from when everyone returns from Hueco Mundo. I just couldn't put it down in a way that wouldn't distract from the story. For the sake of clarity, the arrancars "captured" were Nel, Dondochakka, Pesche, Grimmjow, and Gantenbeine. Nel, Dondochakka, and Pesche will be staying freely in the Human world at Urahara's shop for the time being. Grimmjow and Gantenbeine are being kept as prisoners of war, although I plan to have them joining the Shinigami in the future. Right now, Hinamori is about to meet with Renji).

Hinamori waited around for several minutes. Yamamoto's judgment was being carried out. The three friendly arrancars were leaving again for the living world along with the humans. The other two arrancars would be kept in detention cells until their allegiances were made certain, although it appeared as though they would ally themselves with Seireitei.

Hinamori was watching Renji Abarai, waiting for a chance to talk to her old friend. She walked over to where Renji was standing.

"Hello Renji!" She said cheerfully.

"Momo!" he said, only just realizing she was there, "Its great to see you again! When were you released?"

"Yesterday morning," Momo said, "Would you like to come over to my apartment, I have someone to tell you."

So the two went to Hinamori's apartment. Hinamori explained the situation with her new powers. When she finished, Renji was openmouthed in shock.

"So- so what are you going to do now?" he asked.

"Well I'm planning to start-" she was broken off by a knock on the door. She got up to answer it. It was Hitsugaya.

"Momo, there's a meeting of the captains concerning you. Please come with me." He said.

Hinamori apologized to Renji and left for the meeting.

Now that all ten remaining captains were back in Soul Society, it would be decided what to do with her new powers. All agreed that she must be trained in the use of these powers, but the captains differed in their opinions of how this should be done. Mayuri wanted to experiment on her before training began. Kenpachi was in favor of an immediate, intense training program. Hitsugaya was concerned about her safety and wanted to take the training slowly. Soi Fon still held doubts about her loyalty and wanted to wait until her loyalty to Seireitei was confirmed. There was much arguing going on. Finally Yamamoto had had enough of this bickering, slamming his cane to the floor, silencing the room.

"This is pointless. The only one who can decide when Vice-Captain Hinamori will begin training is Vice-Captain Hinamori." He said.

All eyes in the room turned to her. "I- I want to go into training immediately." She said nervously.

"Very well," Yamamoto said, "Do you know who you would like to instruct you?"

"Well," Hinamori said, "If its not too much trouble, I was actually wondering if Captain Zaraki might instruct me." Every eye in the room widened at this. Everyone slowly turned towards Kenpachi.

Kenpachi shrugged, "Its okay with me. I'll meet her tomorrow at 7:00 at the Eleventh Division's outdoors training compound."

"Very well," Yamamoto said, "If there's no more, then this meeting is dismissed."

Hinamori and the captains left the building. It was dark outside. As she stepped out, she noticed that Ruby was outside waiting for her. She waved at Hinamori and came over.

"Hi Momo! I just wanted to see how the meeting went." She said.

"The meeting was excellent," Hinamori said, "Tomorrow I'll begin training with Captain Zaraki."

"WHAT!!!" Ruby practically shouted, "How could they expect you to do that when you've only just recovered?!"

"I requested it," Hinamori said simply.

"Momo, are you insane?! You'll get massacred!" Ruby yelled.

"Relax, Ruby," Hinamori said, "Swordsmanship is my weakest fighting skill and I need to improve on it. Besides, Zaraki is only interested in training me, not killing me."

Ruby sighed, "Okay, I just hope you know what you're getting yourself into."

"Thanks, Ruby. Oh, hi Toushiro!" Hinamori said, waving. Ruby looked around and saw that Hitsugaya was standing behind her with what looked suspiciously like a blush on his face. Ruby watched her run over to him. He whispered something to her. She giggled and whispered a reply back. Hinamori ran back over to Ruby.

"He just asked me on another date!" Hinamori whispered excitedly to her, "We're going to a restaurant and then we'll watch the stars together, I heard that there's going to be a meteor shower tonight!"

"Momo, that's wonderful!" Ruby said, "I guess I'll see you in the morning." Hinamori smiled and ran back over to Hitsugaya.

After the two had left, Ruby's cell-phone began to ring. She sighed, took it out and answered it.

"_Have you obtained the information?"_ a voice on the phone said.

"Yes," Ruby whispered, "Aizen-Sama."

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Thanks for the reviews. Please, please, please review more, you have no idea how much I appreciate your reviews. By the way, just in case you don't understand what's happening, lets just say that the next chapter will be entitled "Traitor" 


	13. Traitor

Authors Note: Just so that you're aware, from now on the story will begin heading in a darker direction. There will still be romance and nice stuff like that, but overall things are going to be more dramatic now. Also, since we are now getting so in depth into the characters, I've decided to start referring to Momo as "Momo" and not "Hinamori"

I do not own Bleach, though I'm hoping Tite Kubo might give it to me if I ask nicely

**Chapter 13**

Traitor

Ruby Nicontrabetharox ran quietly through the dark streets of Seireitei. She made sure that she was completely untraceable. If anybody found out about her deeds, she would be executed for certain. She was the servant of Aizen. She was a traitor to all shinigami. Her superiors. Her division. Her friends. She knew that in the end, she would have a hand in all of their deaths.

She had been working for Aizen for three months now. She had already passed along countless secrets to Aizen, from shinigami training records to advanced technologies. Tonight her mission was to break into the Fourth division records chamber. The records that she was stealing were those regarding Momo Hinamori's reiatsu levels. Ever since she had set foot in the Shinigami Academy, her reiatsu had been carefully monitored. Aizen could make great use of this information, and he had instructed her to retrieve it. She had already retrieved part of the information the previous night, but the presence of a passing guard forced her to abandon this mission until tonight.

Aizen was very interested in Momo's new powers. He wished to evaluate how useful she might be to him. Privately, Ruby hoped that Momo would willingly join Aizen, for if she didn't Ruby knew, in no uncertain terms, that Momo Hinamori would be killed. She didn't want that. Despite everything Ruby had done, she still considered Momo to be a friend of hers.

Ruby finally reached the fourth division. There were few guards in the building. Most wouldn't consider this area to be important enough to warrant any security at all. Ruby jumped silently onto the roof of the building containing the records. She lifted a loose tile and entered the ventilation system. She took out her zanpakuto.

"Relax, Kiobimaru." She whispered. Wisps of vapor came off of the blade of Kiobimaru. Ordinarily, she would use this to calm down and relax patients, but it would work just as well making the guards sluggish and unable to notice her presence in the building. She sheathed her zanpakuto and crawled through the ventilation shaft. Her small frame allowed her to move easily in the confined space. Finally, she reached the room holding the records.

She opened the vent above the room and crawled out. The room was filled with tall file cabinets, each one containing many electronic devices that contained all sorts of information. She would have to work fast as Kiobimaru's effect would only be in full force for several minutes, the guards would begin to regain some of their senses soon.

Ruby hurriedly found the cabinet containing the records and opened it. She quickly found what she was looking for. It was a small grey cube with several buttons and places to plug in wires. She then reached into her pocket and pulled out a cell phone and a cord. She plugged one end of the cord into the phone and one end into the cube. She pressed several buttons and began to copy the information from the cube to her cell phone. After several minutes, there was a small beep, indicating its completion. She put the cube back in the cabinet and the cord in her pocket and then checked her cell phone. It showed that all information had been successfully copied.

"Yes," murmured Ruby to herself, "Aizen will be very pleased."

"Hello, is someone in there?" A voice outside the door said. Ruby froze. She had been careless. There was no way that she could escape back through the vent quickly enough. Panicking, she hid herself in a dark corner. The door creaked open and a figure stumbled in. It was Hanatarou. He seemed a bit wobbly; Kiobimaru evidently hadn't worn off quite yet. He glanced around the room, apparently not seeing Ruby.

"Huh, could have sworn I'd heard something. Oh well." He muttered to himself turning to leave. Ruby was so relieved that she could not help but let out a small sigh of relief. Her eyes widened in horror that she had made a sound.

Hanatarou heard it too. It would be the last thing he would hear before, as he began to turn around, a sword went through his chest.

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Thanks to those who reviewed. Please review more. Last chapter had disappointingly few reviews for what seemed to me to be the best plot twist since "Luke, I am your father". In any case, in the next chapter we will learn why Ruby works for Aizen. 


	14. Enslaved

I do not own Bleach

**Chapter 14**

Enslaved

Ruby stood frozen in shock. Her sword was still sticking through Hanatarou, his warm blood running onto her hands. She slowly withdrew it and Hanatarou fell to the ground, surprise, fear, and pain in his dead eyes. She looked at her hands. They were covered in Hanatarou's blood. Tears came to her eyes and she sank to her knees. What had she done? She hadn't meant for this to happen. Hanatarou was a good friend. He had never hurt anyone and had always tried to do the right thing. Now he was dead. Murdered.

Ruby couldn't believe herself. Sure she had passed sensitive information to the enemy, but she never thought that she would murder someone, let alone a friend like Hanatarou. But what was done was done. Ruby Nicontrabetharox was a murderer now, and she needed to dispose of the body.

She looked down at the lifeless form of Hanatarou. Perhaps she should dismember him to make hiding him easier. She shook herself. Hanatarou deserved better than that, she could never insult his memory by doing such a thing. But if she couldn't do that, what could she do? She thought bitterly to herself that maybe she should just leave it here and let the shinigami authorities piece together who was responsible and arrest and execute her. She deserved it.

Suddenly a pain shot through her. It felt as if _she_ had been stabbed. Barely suppressing a scream, she realized her mistake. She had thought of going against Aizen's will. The pain drilled through her, the agony nearly unbearable. She knew it would not stop until she had fixed her mistake. Frantically she looked around the room. She saw a small storage closet. She hastily grabbed Hanatarou's lifeless body and stuffed it in. She felt the pain recede but it was not gone yet, she needed to clean up this mess. She hastily muttered a Kidou spell that erased the blood from the floor and herself. Finally, the pain stopped.

Ruby looked at her hands. They looked just as they had before, but she knew that they would be stained with Hanatarou's blood forever. She looked into the storage closet at Hanatarou, a look of fear still on his face. She reached in and closed his eyes.

"I'm so sorry Hanatarou." She whispered, tears streaming down her cheeks. She closed the closet door. They surely would not find him until at least late tomorrow, maybe even the day after that. This room was not used often.

Ruby hastily climbed back through the vent and made her way through the building. She reached the roof and climbed out. She quickly made her way towards her apartment, which was nearby luckily. She ran inside and locked the door and shut the curtains.

She pulled out the phone containing the information. The information that ended up costing Hanatarou his life. She wanted to throw it away, but knew that she could not. Aizen had ordered her to retrieve this information and give it to him, and that was what she must do. She decided that maybe she would wait until later to send the information to Aizen. Just to spite him.

As soon as she began to put the phone away, the pain returned. It felt as if there was a vice slowly tightening around her head. She quickly began making the electronic connection to Aizen. As soon as she had made the connection to Aizen, the pain stopped. She sent the information. Upon her completion, Aizen sent her a message over the phone, "Await further orders."

As soon as she was sure that there were no further orders, Ruby ran to her room and threw herself into bed. Now that her mission was over, she was free to grieve over Hanatarou. She cried into her pillow. Hanatarou didn't deserve to die. He had always been such a wonderful friend to her. He was always so nice, and he'd always made her laugh with his clumsiness. Now he was dead because of her. She had murdered one of her best friends. She simply could not believe it. How could she live with herself?

She thought back to when this all began. To that horrible day when she became a slave to Aizen's will…

_It was several days after Aizen left Soul Society. Ruby had gone to bed as normal, but when she woke up, she was lying on a strange table in a darkened room. The table seemed alive. It had grotesque crab-like arms that were holding her down. A door opened and in walked none other than Aizen. Ruby froze in terror. What did Aizen want with her? She was afraid. Surely all of this meant that he was going to kill her. Several hours later, she wished that he had._

_Ruby was tortured. Aizen would command her to do things. If she refused, the revolting table would give her horrible pain. The agony was at a level she had never thought possible. Every cell in her body would seem to burst into flame. Over and over again, Aizen would give orders and if she refused them, she would be forced to endure the horrible pain again. Eventually, she didn't even have to verbally refuse him to get the pain. If she even thought of disobeying him, she would be put through the agony. If she had even the slightest reservations about following his orders, it meant pain. The table always knew when she was having rebellious thoughts, and it would punish her dearly for them._

_Finally, after days and days of such torture, the hideous table released her. Aizen came up to her and told her that she was to be his spy in the Seireitei. That she would loyally serve him and his will forever. Ruby decided that she could refuse him now that the table didn't hold her. He would just have to kill her now, because she would never spy on her friends. But before she could even open her mouth, the pain came back in full force, the same as if she were still on the table. She fell to the floor and, sobbing in defeat, pledged that she would serve Aizen with her life._

_She was returned to Seireitei. In all of the chaos left in Aizen's wake, nobody had even noticed she was gone. She returned to work, acting the same as usual in front of everyone else, but in reality collecting information for Aizen. One week and many stolen Seireitei secrets later, Ruby had decided she'd had enough. She did not want to betray her comrades anymore. She decided that she would take her own life. But as she reached for Kiobimaru, intending to end her life, the pain came back, effectively paralyzing her. If she killed herself, she would be unable to carry out Aizen's will. She attempted to grab Kiobimaru several more times, but each time the pain would return, preventing her from ending her misery._

_Finally, she simply gave up and accepted her fate. She would be Aizen's slave for her entire life._

Ruby wept into her pillow. Thinking back, she realized now why she had killed Hanatarou. She had been conditioned to always carry out whatever was in Aizen's best interests. When Hanatarou became close to discovering her, it was in Aizen's best interest that he be killed. And he was. Ruby realized that this meant that she wasn't even allowed to think for herself anymore. Her base instinct would always be to do whatever is best for Aizen.

She thought of Hanatarou's dead eyes, full of fear and pain. They would haunt her forever. She looked at her hands, which only a short while earlier had been covered in Hanatarou's blood. Ruby did not want to hurt any more of her friends, but what she could do? She couldn't betray Aizen. She couldn't warn them of what a danger she was to them. She couldn't even kill herself to protect them from her. She hated herself for being so weak that she could not break free of this. She wanted to think for herself again, to be free. But she knew that she never would, for she was no longer an individual. She was just an extension of Aizen's will. All she could do was weep.

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Just so there's no confusion, Ruby is not really responsible for her actions. Aizen has tortured and conditioned her so that it causes her extreme pain to even think of going against his will. She is essentially his slave. Please review. I know that it doesn't seem like a lot, but it means so much to me to have people review my work. Also, thank you to everyone who has reviewed. Please continue reviewing. 


	15. Meteor Shower

Author's note: This chapter will take place at the same time as in the previous two chapters, only focusing on Momo instead of Ruby. I know that it's considerably happier in overall tone than the previous chapter and I hope you can enjoy it. However, although this chapter is very nice and sweet, you should also recognize the irony that while these two are having such a good time, Ruby is suffering horribly.

I do not own Bleach

Chapter 15

Meteor Shower

Momo and Hitsugaya were walking side by side, holding hands. The two were holding hands as they headed for the restaurant where they would be having dinner. They were both very hungry, but they walked slowly, wanting to simply keep walking and holding eachother's hand for as long as possible. Finally, they reached the restaurant. After going to the table they began to look at their menus.

For Shinigami, more power meant more appetite, and Momo and Hitsugaya both were extremely powerful. Needless to say, this raised a few eyebrows of the people sitting at nearby tables when they ordered. Hitsugaya ordered two bowls of rice, two bowls of miso soup, grilled tuna, and a plate of assorted deep-fried vegetables. Momo ordered three bowls of rice, a plate of noodles, steamed vegetables, broiled salmon, and grilled eel (A/N: WTF!?).

The two talked and laughed while waiting for their food. It was the first time in a long while that Aizen was nowhere near their thoughts. Finally their huge quantities of food arrived, taking up every inch of the table. The two promptly devoured all of it, drawing stares from all over the restaurant.

When the two finally finished their gargantuan meal, they paid for their food and walked out of the restaurant, quite full. They both felt like they were going to burst (Momo knew she shouldn't have ordered the eel). Despite this however, they were able to make it up to the roof of the Fifth division building, where they sat down and waited for the meteor shower to start.

It was somewhat chilly, so Momo edged a little bit closer to Hitsugaya, putting her arm around him. She smiled when he did the same. She leaned against him and nuzzled her head against him. Hitsugaya was going to protest this, but realized he rather liked it.

The two sat there watching the stars for quite some time, simply sitting there next to eachother with their arms around eachother's backs. They were very happy just sitting there alongside one another. Finally the meteor shower came. The two gazed in wonder as meteors streaking across the sky. Hitsugaya leaned towards Momo.

"You're supposed to make a wish Momo." He whispered. Momo closed her eyes tightly and made her wish, just as the last meteor fell. They sat in silence for a while, simply enjoying eachother's presence. Finally, Hitsugaya turned to Momo.

"So what did you wish for?" Hitsugaya asked.

Momo merely gave him a huge smile, "This," she said. With that, she leaned over and gave him a long, loving kiss.

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Thanks for reading. I know this is significantly happier and more upbeat than the last couple chapters, but try to see the irony of this taking place at the exact same time as the events with Ruby. Try to enjoy the chapter itself too, as it is a progression of Momo and Hitsugaya's relationship. In the next chapter, Momo begins her training. Thanks to everyone who reviewed, please continue reviewing; and if you didn't review, it's never too late to start! 


	16. Training

I do not own Bleach

**Chapter 16**

Training

Hitsugaya walked down the darkened streets of Seireitei. It was early morning; the sun had not even risen yet. A mist hung in the cool air. He strode quickly towards his destination. He knew he had to do this to ensure Momo's safety. Finally he reached his destination. He knocked on the door. Some cursing came from inside and a light was turned on. A moment later the door opened, revealing a very irritated Kenpachi Zaraki in his nightclothes.

"What do you want so early in the morning?" He asked irritably.

"I'd like to discuss Vice-Captain Hinamori's training." Hitsugaya said.

"What about it? You already know that I'll be teaching her swordsmanship." Kenpachi said.

"I'm not talking about what you're teaching her! I'm talking about her safety!" Hitsugaya said angrily, "You had better not harm her! I know that you're hoping to have a battle with her, and I won't let it happen! You're supposed to be training her, and if I find out you hurt her, I'll make you sorry!"

"I have three points to make," Kenpachi said, "One: a little runt like you couldn't put a scratch on me. Two: I have no intention of seriously fighting her. Her training will be tough, and I'm not guaranteeing that she won't end up with some scratches and bruises, but I won't let her be seriously harmed. Three: You should really have more faith in her abilities. From my understanding, she's more powerful than you now. She doesn't need you protecting her constantly."

Hitsugaya was about to say that of course he needed to protect her, that he cared about her and wasn't going to allow anything to happen to her, but he realized that he was right. It was not in Momo's best interest for him to constantly watch over her. He would not always be there to protect her and she needed to learn to look after herself. He knew that she was more than capable, and that his constantly being there to protect her was detrimental to her growth in power. He sighed and nodded, signaling to Kenpachi that he understood.

"Is that all then? I want to go back to bed." Kenpachi said.

"Yes, that is all. Thank you for your time." Hitsugaya said quietly. Kenpachi closed the door and Hitsugaya sighed and walked away.

Momo woke up to her alarm clock. It was 6:30; she would have to go to the 11th division to train soon. She was very excited to be taught by someone as skilled as Kenpachi Zaraki. She had never been very good with swordsmanship. Her Shikai did not require knowledge of stances and parrying techniques. She knew though that she would have to get better though, and now that she was stronger, faster, and more agile she should be able to learn it quickly, especially under an expert swordsman like Kenpachi Zaraki.

Momo did worry a bit though. She thought back to when she had fought Inoo Katori, to how much she enjoyed the fight and how exhilarated she felt during it. She didn't want to become the sort of person who enjoys fighting. She wanted to be able to fight well, but because she wanted to protect others, not because she enjoyed it. She didn't want to turn into a person who fights just for the fun of it. She pushed such thoughts from her mind; they would do her no good. She had to learn how to fight better; she would just have to suppress that instinctive enjoyment of the fight.

Momo put on her Shinigami robes and ate breakfast before walking out of her apartment. The sun had just risen and the sky was still relatively dim. She took a deep breath and began walking towards the 11th division.

She was unsure of what she would find when she arrived there. She of course knew her fellow Vice-Captain Yachiru Kusajishi; and she knew Ikkaku and Yumichika who always ended doing Yachiru's Vice-Captain duties, but other than them she didn't know anyone from the 11th Division. The members of the 11th division were notoriously violent and thuggish. She knew that she would be fine, but still she didn't want to get into any conflicts. Midway through these thoughts she realized that she was already in the 11th division area. There were tough looking individuals here and there, but most of them apparently hadn't woken up yet. Momo was glad, she didn't want to attract attention to herself. Some of the 11th division members were giving her mean looks, but most simply gave an apathetic glance at her and returned to what they were doing.

Finally, Momo left the main 11th division area and walked through a small forest of trees towards the outdoors training area. When she arrived in the clearing that was the training area, Kenpachi was already there. Ikkaku was also there, standing off to the side. Momo looked around. The area had a series of large boulders and even a cliff. There were a few small shrubs scattering the area. The area was isolated, so there was no chance anyone would stumble across them.

Momo bowed, "Good morning Captain Zaraki." She said.

"Mornin'," Kenpachi grunted, "Why don't we skip the pleasantries and get right to the training?" He said.

"Oh, um, yes that would be fine." Momo said, surprised by the suddenness but please that she would get to begin right away.

"Good," Kenpachi said, "before I begin training you personally I want you to fight with Ikkaku here for a while. When I'm satisfied that you've reached a high enough level, I will begin to train you."

"Yes sir," Momo said. Kenpachi went off to sit on one of the nearby rocks. Ikkaku stepped forward.

"Well then Momo, shall we begin?" Ikkaku said, drawing his Zanpakuto.

"Yes, I think so," Momo said with a slight smile, drawing Tobiume.

The two took up there stances. Momo took a deep breath. She knew that Ikkaku was a much better swordsman than Inoo Katori and that he would not be defeated as easily.

The two slowly circled eachother, waiting for the other to make the first move. Finally, Ikkaku moved forward with a light jab, clearly an attempt to simply start the fight. Momo parried easily and came back with a horizontal slash. Ikkaku blocked it easily, for now this was just warm-ups. The two's blades were locked for several moments before Ikkaku began a series of short but powerful thrusts of his blade. Momo was able to block or dodge them, but she realized that Ikkaku was beginning to get serious, so she too would need to become more aggressive in her attacks.

She took her left hand off of Tobiume so that she would be able to attack with more agility and speed. In the past, such a move for her would have been extremely foolish, as she wouldn't have been strong enough to deflect a strong blow with only one hand holding her sword, but things were different now. Her vast increase in reiatsu had greatly enhanced her muscles, one arm was now sufficient.

"Daring move," Ikkaku commented. Momo merely smiled in response, and began to go on the offensive.

She gave an upwards diagonal slash which Ikkaku was barely able to deflect, and without even stopping the movement of her blade, came back for a horizontal slash that Ikkaku was only just able to stop.

"Good work," he said, their blades still locked, "Two powerful strikes against me in the same movement, very finely executed."

"Thanks," Momo said, and began a series of light, but precisely executed slashes. They were very fast, a normal shinigami would be badly injured by now, but Ikkaku was able to block them. By executing his own attacks, Ikkaku was able to counter Momo's strikes. Ikkaku's fighting style was significantly different from Momo's. While Momo's attacks focused on elegant slashes and agility, Ikkaku's preferred method of attacking was based on aggressive but strong movements. The two techniques clashed, neither one gaining any ground. Ikkaku was an expert at swordsmanship, but Momo was stronger and faster. To Momo, it was easy to keep track of Ikkaku's movements and for her to block his attacks, it was only Ikkaku's years of experience and skilled techniques that allowed him to hold his ground against her.

The two fought for several hours. Momo enjoyed every minute of it. This worried her. She had been able to maintain her rationality, but she was increasingly becoming more absorbed with the fight, eventually putting Ikkaku on the defensive. She decided that she should end this before it got out of hand. Carefully letting loose some of her reiatsu so as to increase her strength and speed for just a moment without losing herself in the thrill of the battle, she raised her blade and gave a powerful downward slash. Ikkaku was able to block it but his hands shook from the force of it. Suddenly, Momo broke the contact between the swords and aimed an extremely fast slash at his leg. It was much faster than what Ikkaku could move his sword to block, so he instead dodged it, but in doing so put himself off balance. Momo took this opportunity and directed a powerful blow to Ikkaku's zanpakuto, knocking it completely out of his hand and knocking him over.

Ikkaku's eyes widened in surprise. Kenpachi walked over as he got up.

"Well done," He said, "Ikkaku, go back to the division and resume your normal duties."

"Yes sir," Ikkaku said and hurried off towards the main 11th Division area.

Kenpachi turned to Momo, "I'll give you a ten minute break to eat and rest," he said, handing her a brown bag full of rice balls, "After that, I'll begin training you."

"Very well sir," Momo said with a bow and sat down against one of the rocks.

As she ate the food she thought about the danger of her new powers. She thought of all the damage she had caused to the Fourth Division medical center. She was becoming afraid of herself. She could feel the unbelievably massive power deep within herself, begging to be let out. She knew that if she was not careful, she could end up hurting her friends. If she overexerted herself, she knew that the sheer amount of power would rip her body to pieces. After she finished, she stood up, knowing that she would have to work on her training regardless of these things. She would just need to maintain control of herself.

Kenpachi walked forward his sword out, "You ready?" He asked.

Momo nervously nodded. In truth, she didn't quite feel ready, but she took up her stance nonetheless. Kenpachi made the first move. He came rushing forward with a strong overhead swipe. Momo blocked it, but just barely. Kenpachi made another strike that she was only just able to avoid. His speed was on par with hers, as was his strength, but he was much more experienced in using a sword than she was.

Momo continued to just barely dodge or block his insanely fast attacks. She attempted everything she knew to gain the advantage but it didn't work. She tried using her elegant sweeps of the blade, but in Kenpachi's flurry of attacks, such a move left her vulnerable. She attempted to use tricks like she had done with Ikkaku, but Kenpachi saw right through them. She had already sustained several minor scratches, and was beginning to panic. She could feel the power inside of her scratching to get out, but she held it in. She did not know what using such power would do to her.

Kenpachi continued his onslaught. Eventually, Momo was knocked down. When she got up, there was a nasty cut on her cheek.

"Come on, get up and fight for real," Kenpachi said, "I can feel you holding back your real power. Unleash it and use it."

"I can't," Momo said, "What if all of that power turns me into a completely different person? What if it ends up hurting my friends? I can't take the chance!"

"Idiot," Kenpachi said, "It's your power, you control it. As long as you have an iron determination as to what your goal is, you'll control it. Besides, what do you think will be better for the safety of your friends, you using your full power or having them constantly fighting dangerous battles for your sake?"

Momo knew he was right. She knew that she would have to come to terms with her powers eventually, and it might as well be now. She took a deep breath and unleashed her powers.

A roaring filled Momo's ears. Pink energy engulfed her, a deafening roar being made by it. The energy flared upwards, going hundreds of meters into the sky. Momo focused the energy onto herself. The massive flare of reiatsu ceased, all of the energy returning to her, strengthening her. Her irises glowed pink with the power.

Momo went on the offensive. She felt the power coursing through her. Her speed and strength were vastly increased from their already impressive levels. She began her attack. She was faster and stronger than ever before. Her storm of slashes quickly put Kenpachi on the defensive.

Her mind barely registered what she was doing. All she knew was that this was one of the best feelings that she's ever had. She was no longer afraid of this power; she embraced it. She was now infinitely stronger than before. She loved the feeling that this was giving her. She couldn't help but wear a huge smile as she attacked Kenpachi. This was terrific! She had never felt this strong before. She felt like she could take on the whole world. The rush she felt was indescribable. She wanted more of this rush; she wanted to enjoy this fight to the fullest. She wanted more power! She bypassed common sense and began to tap even further into her powers, the massive energy flowed through her, giving her the most amazing feeling ever. However, as she continued to reach for more and more power, she reached her body's limit and blacked out.

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Thanks to everyone who reviewed. Please continue reviewing, it really means a lot to me and it will help give me motivation to write longer, better chapters. 


	17. High on Power

I do not own Bleach

**Chapter 17**

High on Power

Momo opened her eyes. She was feeling dizzy and disoriented. She couldn't see anything clearly, only fuzzy outlines. Her head throbbed painfully. She slowly lifted her hand and rubbed her forehead. She couldn't quite remember where she was or what she was doing…

"So you're finally awake," a familiar voice said.

Momo blinked several times. Slowly, her vision grew clearer and she saw Kenpachi Zaraki standing in front of her. His he had numerous cuts and his left arm was heavily bandaged. She suddenly remembered everything. She remembered that she had been training and that she had released most of her power at once. She remembered how she had gone mad with power and had continued to reach for more and more until she blacked out.

"Hello? Are you awake or not?" Kenpachi said.

"Umm, yes." Momo said quietly. She slowly raised herself up and shakily stood up.

"Are you ready for another round?" Kenpachi said.

"Umm, are you sure that's wise Captain Zaraki?" Momo said.

Kenpachi laughed, "Of course it is. You just got a little high off of the power. Everyone does that their first time tapping into their full power. You just need to keep doing it until you get used to it. Its better that you go crazy with power around me who can stop you than around a bunch of normal Shinigami who you'd slaughter in seconds.

"Very well then," Momo said, slightly unnerved. She drew her zanpakuto and took a fighting stance. Kenpachi did likewise. Momo took a deep breath and raised her reiatsu. The familiar roar of reiatsu filled her ears. The feeling of the massive energy coming from her was back. This time though it was more controlled. The energy swirled around Momo for a second before it returned to Momo, causing her to have a pink aura surrounding her.

That feeling of immense power, of total invincibility, was back. Momo was able to push that aside though, keeping herself sane and thinking clearly. The energy permeated her; she could feel her muscles strengthening and her senses sharpening. The idea of another battle caused her to subconsciously become very excited. Despite this, she was still able to maintain control. She rushed forward with an upwards diagonal slash. Kenpachi blocked it, but Momo was pleased to see his hand shaking slightly from the strength of her blow. She removed her blade for another swing, but Kenpachi had already done so, making a powerful downwards swing at her. Momo was able to block it and force his blade to her right. With his defenses in an awkward position, Momo began a flurry of shallow but deadly fast slashes, quickly putting Kenpachi on the defensive.

The thrill of the fight was beginning to overcome Momo. She wanted this to last as long as possible and subconsciously let up on her attacks, allowing Kenpachi to begin his own offensive. Momo blocked his rapid attacks, and with each deflected blow grew more and more engrossed in the fight. Her thoughts became cloudy as the rush of power consumed her. All of her senses were overwhelmed by this feeling. The power within her was intoxicating. She wanted more. She needed more! Even as she continued her onslaught on Kenpachi, a manic grin on her face, she continued to dig within her soul, tapping deeper and deeper into her power. This was the best! She loved having all of this power! But there was so much more. She could be even more powerful. Despite all of the power she had uncovered, the end of it was still not in sight. She wanted more of this. More of this fantastic feeling, the feeling of power! She never wanted this feeling to end; she wanted to continuously become more powerful! Now that she had tasted this immense power, she could never stop! She would find more! She dug deeper and deeper, the power consuming her. Suddenly though, it all stopped, and Momo blacked out once again.

Hitsugaya heard a knock on the door. It was 7:30 and Hitsugaya wondered who wanted to see him this late at night. He sighed and walked over to the door. When he opened it, he was greeted with a strange sight. Kenpachi was standing in the doorway, Momo slung over his shoulder like a sack of flour.

"What the hell did you do to her?!" an enraged Hitsugaya yelled, "I thought I told you not to hurt her!"

"Relax," Kenpachi said, taking Momo off of his shoulder and handing her to Hitsugaya, "She just overdosed on the reiatsu and went a little bit nuts."

Hitsugaya stumbled under the weight of Momo (she is bigger than him after all) for a minute until he managed to set her down on the couch.

"How exactly does someone go 'a little bit' nuts?" Hitsugaya asked after catching his breath.

"Look, she just released her full power and got a little bit too engrossed in the training and passed out," Kenpachi said, "It's no big deal, she just needs to be conditioned to handle all of that power."

"You're greatly oversimplifying the situation," Hitsugaya said. Suddenly, there was a small moan on the couch. Hitsugaya looked around and saw that Momo was sitting up, rubbing her head.

"Momo, are you all right?" Hitsugaya said worriedly.

Momo blinked, "Toushiro?" she said, "Yeah, I'm okay. I just have a bit of a headache."

"That's good. What happened?" Hitsugaya asked.

"I already told you," Kenpachi interjected, "She went nuts with power."

"I meant a real explanation," Hitsugaya said.

"No, that pretty much sums it up," Momo said, "I released my power and I went a little bit crazy and tried to get more. Its my own fault, I overpushed my limits."

"But why were you trying to get more power," Hitsugaya asked.

"I wasn't really thinking clearly. All that I can remember is how good it felt to be so powerful and that I wanted more power. I guess power is kind of addictive," Momo said with a nervous giggle.

Hitsugaya was about to voice his concerns when an alarm siren sounded.

"ALL CAPTAINS AND VICE-CAPTAINS REPORT TO THE 1ST DIVISION MEETING HALL IMMEDIATELY!"

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Thanks for reading. Next chapter will be a bit different from this one. Just remember the theme of Momo going mad with power, as it will be prominently featured in the future. Please review. Also, thank you to ccccookie, Snowy Peach Tsubasa, and shirochanxmomo 1220 for reviewing last chapter. I hope you'll review this chapter too. 


	18. Murder Report

Authors Note: I was going to wait to make this chapter, but I got so many good reviews that I was inspired to start right away. Remember how that works in the future.

I do not own bleach

**Chapter 18**

Murder Report

"ALL CAPTAINS AND VICE-CAPTAINS REPORT TO THE 1ST DIVISION MEETING HALL IMMEDIATELY!" The alarm blared.

"Oh great, now what?" Hitsugaya said irritably.

"I don't know but we should go right away," Momo said.

"Are you well enough to go?" Hitsugaya said.

"Yes of course I am, and even if I wasn't it wouldn't matter. It's part of my duties as a Vice-Captain to attend." Momo said.

"Can we just go and get it over with?" Kenpachi asked.

"Fine," Hitsugaya said.

Hitsugaya, Momo, and Kenpachi ran to the First Division meeting hall. When they arrived, they found that most of the other captains and Vice-Captains were already there. Only Soi Fon and Yamamoto were not yet present. The three took their places in the meeting hall. Most of the others looked quite tired.

"This had better be important if they're going to make us come here so late at night," muttered Hitsugaya.

After several minutes, the door at the end of the hall opened. Yamamoto and Soi Fon walked in, their faces grim. Yamamoto stepped forward.

"Welcome Captains and Vice-Captains," he said, "This meeting has been called under grave circumstances. I regret to inform you all that Fourth Division's seventh seat, Hanatarou Yamada, has been found murdered."

Everyone's eyes widened. For a moment there was silence. Then, the room burst into angry uproar.

"When in the world did this happen?" Komamura asked.

"Why was I not informed that one of my division members was killed," Unohana said angrily.

"Who would want to kill him? That kid never hurt anyone!" Renji yelled, remembering the time that Hanatarou had healed him.

"Forget who, how did a seated officer get killed with nobody noticing?" Hisagi said loudly.

"It must have been those 11th division thugs!" Isane shouted, tears in her eyes, "They were always bullying Hanatarou, it was only a matter of time before they took it too far!"

"That's nonsense," Kenpachi growled, "you haven't even heard what the circumstances were."

"Enough!" Yamamoto said firmly. The room promptly quieted down. "Soi Fon will explain the details of it and I want no interruptions."

Soi Fon walked forward, "I have recently been having members of the Special Forces routinely search rooms around Seireitei for suspicious activity. About half an hour ago, one such search found Yamada's body in a storage closet in the Fourth Division records building. After examining the body we found that he was killed by a zanpakuto wound through the chest." At this, Momo shuddered and instinctively grabbed her chest wear Aizen had stabbed her, remembering the pain she had felt.

Soi Fon continued, "Furthermore, we estimate that he was killed sometime last night. Given the circumstances, we have concluded that someone was stealing information, Yamada stumbled upon them, and they killed him." Soi Fon stepped back and Yamamoto began to speak.

"With this information there is only one possible conclusion, which I'm sure most of you have already come to," he said, "the person who killed Hanatarou Yamada was working for Aizen. This clearly means that Aizen has a spy planted in Seireitei." Eyes widened around the room.

"Are you certain, Captain-Commander?" Ukitake asked, "Isn't it possible that Aizen sent an arrancar to collect information?"

"No, an arrancar would be immediately recognized, we have sensors everywhere to detect their presence." Yamamoto said, "As we have no knowledge of who this spy might be, I am putting all of Seireitei on high alert. However, it is important that word does not get out that there is a spy here. Therefore, I want all of you to look carefully for anyone suspicious. It is vital that we catch this spy as soon as possible. Any further questions?"

"Yes, I would like to request permission to hold Hanatarou Yamada's funeral tomorrow afternoon." Unohana said, clearly upset.

"Very well," Yamamoto sighed, "If that is all, then I declare this meeting over. By the way, Captain Zaraki, I would like to speak with you. The rest of you may go."

Kenpachi walked over to Yamamoto and everyone else silently left the meeting hall, deep in thought about these troubling events. Hinamori walked slowly behind the rest of the group. Hitsugaya came up to her.

"Would you like me to walk you home?" He said, unnerved that there was a traitor in Seireitei and not wanting to allow Momo to be in harm's way.

Momo leaned down and gave Hitsugaya a small kiss, "Thank you," she whispered.

"Captain Hitsugaya, may I speak with you for a moment?" Yamamoto called after them.

Hitsugaya sighed; he knew he couldn't refuse a request from the Captain-Commander.

"It's okay Toushiro," Momo said, giving Hitsugaya another kiss, "I'll be fine." She turned to leave.

"Be careful Momo," Hitsugaya said worriedly. Momo merely smiled and waved in response.

After Momo had left, Hitsugaya walked over to Yamamoto and Kenpachi.

"You wanted something, Captain-Commander?" He asked.

"That is correct. Kenpachi has just informed me of Hinamori's reiatsu outbursts and I would like you to train her to control her reiatsu. Do you understand?" Yamamoto said.

"I understand. Anything else?" Hitsugaya asked.

"Yes, I'm having Ichigo Kurosaki and Orihime Inoue temporarily transferred to Seireitei. We have reason to believe that Inoue may still be targeted by Aizen; we'd like for Kurosaki to be here so as to most efficiently aid us in the war. I would like you and Vice-Captain Hinamori to escort them to their temporary places of residence." Yamamoto said.

"And where is that?" Asked Hitsugaya.

"I would like Inoue to stay with Hinamori and-"

"What!?" Hitsugaya almost yelled. "Why can't she stay with Matsumoto?"

"Kurosaki requested it," Kenpachi interjected, "Something about 'not wanting her to get corrupted any more.'" He finished with a snicker.

"Hinamori is very similar in personality to Inoue, they will get along fine." Yamamoto assured him.

Hitsugaya sighed, "Fine, but where's Kurosaki staying?"

"He will be staying with you." Yamamoto said.

"WHAT!!!" Hitsugaya shouted, "No! I can not share my room with him, it will never work!"

"Do not be concerned; a captain's room is more than big enough for two people." Yamamoto said in a tone that said that the conversation was over. With that, he walked away.

Kenpachi leaned over to Hitsugaya, "He's right you know," he said quietly, "Captain's rooms are plenty big for two people; or in this case one and a half."

Ruby Nicontrabetharox sat in her bed. She had heard the alarm raised, which meant that Hanatarou's body had been found. Although she had gone to work and acted normally today, inside she was an emotional wreck. The guilt of killing Hanatarou was consuming her. Every time she thought of Hanatarou's dead eyes, filled with fear and pain, it took all of her effort not to go into fits of screaming. Hanatarou was one of her best friends, maybe even more than that, but it didn't matter now that he was dead.

Suddenly there was a knock on the door, causing Ruby to jump slightly. She felt the reiatsu of her captain, Retsu Unohana. She was likely here to 'inform' her of Hanatarou's death. She had planned for this and knew exactly how she was going to act. She walked over and answered the door.

"Hello Captain Unohana," She said, "Is there something I can help you with?"

Unohana sighed, "May I come in Ruby?" She asked.

"Yes, okay." Ruby said in a confused voice, opening the door wider for her to fit through.

Unohana walked in and looked sadly into Ruby's eyes, "Ruby," She said quietly, "Hanatarou's dead."

Ruby's eyes widened and tear's began to roll down her cheeks. "D-dead," She stuttered, "h-how?"

"He was murdered last night." Unohana said quietly. Ruby's acting ended now. Her face contorted in very real grief and pain. Unohana pulled her into a sympathetic hug and Ruby cried into her shoulder.

"Don't worry Ruby," Unohana said quietly, patting her on the back, "we'll bring the despicable scum who did this to justice."

Ruby sobbed even harder into Unohana's shoulder.

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Thanks for reading! The last chapter had the most reviews of any chapter yet, so I worked all evening on this chapter. Let this be a lesson: More in-depth reviews result in better, longer chapters that will be made more quickly. Please review everyone! Also, super big thanks to ccccookie, Figure Skater Bethany, shirochanxmomo1220, Jumper Prime, Snowy Peach Tsubasa, and momo hitsugaya. Keep making great reviews guys! 


	19. Meditation

A/N: Remember, Tobiume looks just like Momo except she has pink eyes and her hair is worn loose.

I do not own Bleach

**Chapter 19**

Meditation

Momo hopped from tree to tree inside her inner world. She made here way through the thick branches of dark green leaves and small pinkish purple fruits. There was no danger of her falling down; this was her inner world, and running through these trees was no different to her than if she were on the ground. It was nice and dark, with all but a little bit of sunlight being blocked by the upper canopy of the trees. She had to admit it was rather fun to do this. The branches created a natural maze; in some areas Momo had to jump between branches, other places required that she swing or climb between branches, and in the thickest parts the branches came together to form 'tunnels' that she had to crawl through. As much as she was enjoying this though, this wasn't what she was here for.

Momo had been here for several hours. She was upset about Hanatarou's death. He was not particularly close to her, but she knew him to be gentle and kind from the times that he had helped heal her. It troubled her that someone would kill such an innocent person. It didn't help that he was stabbed in the exact same location that she was; the only difference being that she got lucky and he didn't. The stress from these thoughts prevented her from sleeping. She decided that she would meditate with her zanpakuto. Doing so would hopefully help her gain control of her reiatsu, and subsequently work to obtain Bankai. Also, while she was meditating her body would be able to rest despite her troubled mind.

Well, it had seemed like a good idea at the time. As soon as Momo entered her inner world, Tobiume promptly declared that she wanted to play tag. Before Momo could stop her, Tobiume ran off into the trees, shouting over her shoulder that if Momo could catch her she would be willing to talk.

Momo jumped, climbed, and crawled through the trees. She knew that Tobiume would easily see her if she were on the ground, so she had to use the trees. Momo was beginning to feel irritated. She tried to sense Tobiume's presence, but Tobiume lived here, so her presence was everywhere, making her impossible to track. It was then that Momo realized that she was going in circles as she chased Tobiume. She had an idea. She stopped running and hid between several tree branches, hiding her presence. There was a rustling sound in the distance, and Tobiume came running through the branches as though they were a sidewalk. Momo readied herself, and the moment Tobiume ran in front of her, Momo leaped out, grabbing onto Tobiume and knocking them both onto the branches below.

"I got you Tobiume!" She said laughing.

"Awww, no fair! That's cheating!" Tobiume said, laughing quite hard herself.

"Hey, you said I had to catch you, you didn't say how!" Momo said with a giggle.

Tobiume got up. There were several leaves and twigs in her messy hair, but she apparently didn't mind. "So what brings you here Momo?" She said, her pink eyes sparkling with mischief.

"You know why I'm here, what are you up to?" Momo said suspiciously.

"What do you mean? I have no idea why you're here." Tobiume said innocently.

"Fine, I'll humor you," sighed Momo, drawing a big grin from Tobiume, "Every time I begin to draw out my full power, I go crazy and can't control what I'm doing. When that happens, all I can think about is gaining more and more power! I just go mad with it and fight like I'm some sort of animal. Even when I'm not in that state I can feel the power calling out to me, and I really want to answer! Even as my mind is trying to think clearly and resist it, I can't help it! I want more power, I have so much now, but its not enough! I need more! I need it!" Momo shrieked, becoming hysterical.

Tobiume pulled her into a hug and Momo cried into her shoulder. "Momo," she said after several minutes, "You don't need to feel badly, it's not in your nature to greedily chase after power. To suddenly have so much power is difficult and scary for you, I know. But I have faith in you, you just need to stay strong and in high spirit's. You mustn't let your new power consume you. You must make sure that you are in control, not the power."

Momo looked up and smiled. "Thanks Tobiume," she said, "I should probably get back to my world now, it must be nearly morning."

"Your welcome Momo," Tobiume said, "I have one request though."

"What?" Momo said, puzzled.

"Train with your power. Work your way up, little by little, in handling your power. I'm sure you can do it; and when I feel you're ready, I'll materialize and we can begin Bankai training."

"Thanks," Momo said, beginning to fade as she returned back to the regular world.

"Just remember this: If you allow your reiatsu to get out of control just one more time, it could consume you and turn you into a completely different person in an instant," Tobiume called out in warning.

"Thanks for the warning," Momo said, now almost completely faded, "I wouldn't want to turn into a female Kenpachi!" With that she faded away into the real world.

Tobiume smiled grimly, "its not another Kenpachi I'm worried about," she said quietly, "One Aizen is enough for this world."

* * *

Thanks for reading everyone! Please review!

Regarding iceypeach's question: Don't worry, this story won't feature any Orihime-Ichigo romance. I might (it's a big might) have something like that at the very end as a wrap-up, but it won't be in the main storyline. The only reason I didn't add Ishida and Chad was that I felt it would add too many side plots. I honestly never even thought of that pairing when I said that they would be coming, those two were just most useful for plot progression as you'll see next chapter.

So now we know that Momo runs the risk of being consumed by her power and becoming like Aizen (I swear, if anybody makes any comparisons between this and star wars, I'm not updating for a week!).

Thank you to: Bethany, ccccookie, Gothic Queen, shirochanxmomo1220, Snowy Peach Tsubasa, and iceypeach! Please review again guys!

Once again: REVIEW!!!


	20. Roommates

Author's Note: When Momo is talking to Hitsugaya, she'll be calling him Toushiro in most circumstances and Shiro-Chan when she's feeling particularly affectionate towards him. He's stopped trying to get her to call him a captain by now. I just thought I'd clear that up with you. Also, as you've probably noticed, a running gag in this story is that Momo's increased reiatsu makes her hungry for insanely large amounts of food, so you'll be seeing that a lot.

I do not own bleach

**Chapter 20**

Roommates

Momo opened her eyes. She felt well rested from her meditation and she was feeling significantly better this morning than the previous night. Talking to Tobiume soothed some of her fears. Standing up, she realized that she had mud in her hair. _How did that happen?_ She thought. Then she remembered falling down the previous day during her training; she must have gotten it then. Frowning in annoyance that nobody told her, she walked to the bathroom to take a shower.

Emerging from the shower nice and clean, she prepared a breakfast consisting of six scrambled eggs, two apples, and four slices of toast (darn, she wished she had a bigger toaster!). After finishing her huge meal, she heard a knock on the door. She got up to go answer it.

Hitsugaya stood in front of Momo's apartment. It was early morning and only a crack of sunlight was visible. He was here to inform her of Yamamoto's decision that Orihime Inoue would be staying with her. He knew that Momo was a very accommodating girl and would be happy to have Orihime stay with her, but he was still somewhat indignant that the Captain-Commander had made such a decision without informing her first. At least he knew Orihime and her would get along well. He was still fuming about being forced to share his room with Ichigo.

Momo opened the door. "Hi Toushiro! What brings you here?" she said.

"Hey Momo, I-" He broke off upon her stepping into the morning light, staring open-mouthed at her. She had her hair let down loose and was wearing a light blue bathrobe. She smelled of many sweet scented flowers. That tiny crack of early morning sunlight seemed to focus on her, giving her the appearance of an angel.

"Ummm, Toushiro? Are you okay?" she said, giving him a small shake. Hitsugaya snapped out of his trance.

"Oh, yeah I'm fine. It's just that, well, you look beautiful," he said embarrassedly.

Momo's eyes lit up and a big smile appeared on her face. "Awww, thank-you Shiro-Chan!" She said, leaning over and giving him a big kiss.

Hitsugaya blushed, but then remembered why he was here. "Momo, may I come in and talk to you for a moment?" He asked.

"Sure Shiro-Chan," she replied, ushering him in. Hitsugaya walked in, following Momo to the couch where she gestured for him to sit down.

After sitting down, he began talking. "Momo, Captain-Commander Yamamoto has instructed us to greet the humans Ichigo Kurosaki and Orihime Inoue, who are arriving via Senkai Gate this morning." He said.

"Oh, okay!" Momo said. She had heard much about those two from Renji and Matsumoto.

"There is one more thing though," Hitsugaya said, "the Captain-Commander has ordered that Inoue stay with you."

"Very well," said Momo after a moment, "what is she like?"

"She's very nice. I'm sure that you two will get along excellently." Hitsugaya said.

"Okay, when do we need to be at the Senkai Gate?" Momo asked.

"In one and a half hours." Hitsugaya said.

"In that case, would you like to go out for breakfast? I made some stuff here, but it wasn't nearly enough (Hitsugaya glanced at the large pile of dishes), so would you like to go?" she asked with a very sweet look that she knew he couldn't refuse.

"Very well then, that would be fine." Hitsugaya sighed. Hinamori smiled, jumped up and down, and made and unusual noise that sounded like "Yeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeehaaatoooooooo." Hitsugaya was about to ask if she was okay, when she grabbed his arm and ran off, nearly dislocating his shoulder.

She took him to a pancake house (A/N: I know they probably don't have pancake houses in Japan or Soul Society, but for the sake of making writing easier for me, pretend that they do) where there was almost nobody but them. There was one shinigami who was in the corner, reading the Seireitei newspaper. There were also two semi-elderly couples (likely from lower nobility) seated in booths on the other side of the room. Other than them, the restaurant was deserted.

The waitress seated them in a booth and gave them menus. The two looked through the menus and made their orders, as usual drawing stares from across the room (although this time there were fewer people to stare). Toushiro ordered several waffles, a plate full of hash browns, and six strips of bacon. Momo ordered ten sausages and a stack of six jumbo sized pancakes, each one so big that if she were to put one on her head, they would reach past her ears.

As they waited for the food, Hitsugaya attempted to discuss strategies for controlling her reiatsu, but found that she was not even looking at him. Instead, she was staring at the elderly couple.

"Momo, are you okay?" He asked.

"Yeah," she said before turning to him, "Toushiro, do you think we'll ever be like them?"

"What, balding?" Hitsugaya asked confused.

"No!" Momo said, playfully hitting him on the shoulder, "I meant do you think that we'll be together until we're old like they are?"

"Oh. Yes of course I do. We'll be there for eachother our entire lives." He said.

Momo smiled, "Thanks, Shiro-Chan."

It was then that the food arrived. It completely covered the table. The two began eating. As Hitsugaya ate his food, Momo focused on her sausages. They were juicy and savory. She finished them in only a minute. She then turned her attention to the pancakes. The first pancake of the stack she put butter on. The butter quickly melted and soaked into the warm pancake. Momo quickly gobbled it up. She then eyed a container filled with jelly packets. She slathered the next pancake with blackberry jelly and ate it. It was very good, so she decided to try the other jellies. After having pancakes with strawberry jelly, grape jelly, and currant jelly, she realized that she only had one pancake left. She put some yummy syrup on it and ate it. Hitsugaya had also finished his food by now.

The two leaned back in the booth, extremely full. They rested there for some time, until Hitsugaya looked at the clock.

"Oh my gosh! Momo, we have to be at the Senkai Gate in 15 minutes!" He said quickly.

"Oh no, I totally forgot!" Momo said in panic.

The two quickly paid for their food and ran outside, hoping to make it in time. The two ran as fast as they could, but having just eaten so much, they were considerably slower than normal. Luckily though, they managed to arrive just in time. They were still panting when the Senkai Gate opened.

Ichigo and Orihime stepped out. They looked down at the two panting shinigami. They just stood there awkwardly, waiting for the two to catch their breaths. Finally Hitsugaya was able to stand up straight.

"Good morning Kurosaki. We are here to escort you to your residences. By the way, this is Vice-Captain Momo Hinamori." He said.

"Hello," said Ichigo.

"Nice to meet you," said Orihime.

"Hi, its nice to meet you too," said Momo.

"Ichigo," said Toushiro, a dark look on his face, "were you informed of why you two were summoned here?"

Ichigo and Orihime shook their heads.

Hitsugaya sighed, "Hanatarou Yamada was found murdered last night."

"What!" said Ichigo, his eyes wide.

"No…" said Orihime, her eyes tearing up.

"How did this happen? Why was he killed?" Ichigo asked, anger evident in his voice.

"We're not sure, but from the looks of it, somebody was stealing secretive information. Hanatarou happened to stumble across them and they apparently killed him to silence him. We suspect the involvement of Aizen." Hitsugaya said. Ichigo's fists clenched in anger.

"In any case," Hitsugaya continued, "under Yamamoto's orders, you will be staying with me until there are further orders. Inoue will be staying with Momo. Understood?"

Ichigo and Orihime nodded.

"In that case, Momo will take Inoue to her apartment. Kurosaki, follow me." Hitsugaya said.

"Okay then Toushiro," Ichigo said.

"That's Captain Hitsugaya!" Hitsugaya said irritably.

"Bye-bye, Toushiro!" Momo said.

"See you later Momo," Hitsugaya called back.

"No fair, why does she get to call you Toushiro?" Ichigo asked.

"Because I say so." Hitsugaya retorted.

Orihime followed Momo to her apartment. Orihime very much liked Momo; she was a very sweet girl. After a while, they arrived at the apartment and walked in. It was a nice apartment; Orihime decided that she would like it here.

"Would you like to sit down?" asked Momo, gesturing to the couch.

"Yes, thank you." Orihime said, sitting down.

"I'll go prepare tea," Momo said, walking off to the kitchen.

Orihime smiled. Momo was a very nice and considerate girl, but there was something Orihime wondered about her. Why hadn't she seen her before? Orihime had been to Soul Society three times now, yet she had never seen Momo before. She had met all of the other Vice-Captains, yet she had never heard of Momo. She must be new; Orihime would have to ask about that.

Momo walked back in, carrying two cups of tea. She handed one to Orihime and sat down next to her.

"Umm, Vice-Captain Hinamori?" Orihime began.

"You don't have to address me like that, just call me Momo," Momo said, setting her tea down.

"Oh, well Momo, I was wondering what captain you're under?" Orihime asked. Momo then did something that seemed very unusual to Orihime, she suddenly grabbed her chest and began to breathe heavily.

"Momo!" Orihime said in surprise, "Whats wrong?"

"Oh, it-its nothing," said Momo, calming down, "Its just… why do you ask?" 

"I've just never seen you before and was curious. Are you new?" Orihime said.

"No, I've been Vice-Captain for years. I was Vice-Captain under… Aizen." She finally said.

Orihime's eyes widened. This sweet innocent girl had been Vice-Captain under the most evil man alive? She knew that Aizen had been acting during his time as captain and never let on how evil he was, but it still surprised her that he would choose someone like Momo as his Vice-Captain.

Snapping out of her daze, Orihime realized that Momo was crying. She put her arm around her to comfort her.

"I-I first met him when I was at the academy," Momo said, "I was on a training mission in the human world with Renji and Izuru. We were attacked by a bunch of huge hollows. We would have been killed for certain, but Aizen came to save us. From that moment on, my greatest goal in life was to serve under Aizen." Orihime looked at her sadly.

"I finally reached my goal and became Aizen's Vice-Captain," Momo continued, "Over time, I began to worship him to the point that I couldn't live without him. Then, at the same time you and your friends came to save Rukia Kuchiki, they found Aizen's body speared onto a wall with his own zanpakuto. It was one of his illusions, but at the time we all thought it was real. I completely broke down. My entire world seemed to crumble around me. Then, I received a note containing Aizen's 'last words'. It said that Toushiro had killed him. I went after him and attempted to kill him. My best friend, and Aizen convinced me to put a blade at his throat." She said, breaking down in tears again.

"He was able to knock me out without harming me, but as soon as I woke up, I began following him again. I reached the Central 46 and found all of its members dead. I assumed that it was Toushiro who killed them. Ichimaru then appeared behind me and took me to a room. He told me to turn around. I did, and standing in front of me was Aizen. I should have suspected something right there, with him suddenly being alive and in a room full of dead people, but like a fool I ran up to embrace him. Then- then he, he-" Momo broke off into tears again. Orihime patted her back sympathetically.

"He- he-"Momo tried to finish but couldn't. After a moment she raised a shaky hand and partially pulled down the front of her uniform. Orihime gasped. A large scar stood out in the middle of Momo's chest.

"He… stabbed you?" Orihime whispered, horrified. Momo nodded.

"That's why you haven't seen me before. I was in a coma most of the time you were here." Momo said sadly.

Orihime suddenly pulled Momo into a hug. "It will be okay," she said, "You have lots of friends who care about you, you're not alone. And I can promise this: Aizen will pay for what he has done to you and everyone else."

Momo smiled, "Thank you, Orihime."

* * *

Thanks for reading. This chapter was mainly just a connector chapter, but it did serve the purpose of establishing an emotional connection between Momo and Orihime (Plus some really cute HitsuHina). Please review!


	21. Funeral

I do not own Bleach

**Chapter 21**

Funeral

Momo, Ichigo, Hitsugaya, and Orihime walked quietly down the streets of Seireitei. They all had a grim attitude. They were heading towards the Fourth Division, where Hanatarou Yamada's funeral was being held. They were all very sad about Hanatarou's death.

They had all known Hanatarou in one way or another. Ichigo had his life saved by Hanatarou when he had first entered Seireitei as a ryoka. Orihime had only seen Hanatarou a couple of times, but in those few times she grew to like him. Momo cared a lot for Hanatarou, who was one of the primary healers working on Momo after Aizen had stabbed her; he continued to help her as she slowly recovered and she was grateful for that. Hitsugaya had never had a real conversation with Hanatarou, but the fact that he helped to heal Momo was all that it took for him to consider Hanatarou a friend.

They all knew that Hanatarou was caring and innocent. He was always good intentioned and was always polite. They simply could not understand why anybody would have a reason to kill Hanatarou. They knew that Hanatarou had most likely been simply at the wrong place at the wrong time, but that didn't mean that they could accept it any more easily.

They soon arrived. The funeral was being held in an outdoor area of the Fourth division. There were rows of chairs, all facing a casket that held Hanatarou's body. Most of those present were from the Fourth Division. She could see Captain Unohana towards the front; several seats away sat Isane Kotetsu. Renji sat next to Hanatarou's friend Rikichi. Rin Tsubokura sat nearby. These were all friends of Hanatarou's.

Ichigo, Orihime, Momo, and Hitsugaya walked over to the casket. They looked at Hanatarou's body, filled with sadness. Ichigo's fists were clenched as he stared down at Hanatarou's body, vowing to make Aizen and anyone else responsible for this pay. Orihime and Momo both had tears running down their cheeks. Hitsugaya just stood there, an emotionless expression on his face, sad and angry about this.

After a minute, they went to take their seats. Ichigo, Orihime, and Hitsugaya took their seats, but Momo decided that she would sit with her fellow Vice-Captain, Isane Kotetsu. After taking her seat, Momo noticed that there was someone that had been standing over Hanatarou's body for several minutes. With a jolt, she realized that it was Ruby. Ruby was a complete mess. Tears streaked her face, her eyes red and puffy. Her hair was tangled, and she seemed much paler than the usual upbeat, happy Ruby that Momo knew.

Momo leaned in to Isane, "She's really torn up about this," Momo said, "I've never seen her this upset before."

"She loved him," Isane said quietly.

Momo's eyes widened. "She did? She never told me that," she said in astonishment. 

"I doubt she even knew it herself, but theres no mistaking that she truly did love him. I can tell these things, I've known that you and Captain Hitsugaya loved eachother for years, before you even realized it yourself. Its unfortunate that they were never able to admit their feelings to eachother though," Isane said sadly.

Momo looked over at Ruby, feeling great sympathy for Ruby. She had true love and it had been snatched away before she even realized it was there. This was horrible. Not only had an innocent person been killed, but now Ruby was completely heart broken.

Ruby wept over Hanatarou's body for several more minutes before finally walking over and sitting down next to Momo. Momo gave her a comforting hug and Ruby sobbed into her shoulder. Momo silently hugged Ruby through the rest of the funeral service, hoping to calm Ruby down. After the funeral was over Momo simply nodded goodbye to Ruby, no words needed to be said.

Leaving the funeral, Momo was now filled with more determination and resolve than ever before. She _would_ defeat Aizen and prevent this sort of thing from happening again.

* * *

Thanks for reading everyone! After this chapter, the action and depth of the plot will increase exponentially. Also, I'd like to say that what Isane said wasn't speculation; Ruby really did love Hanatarou, which greatly adds to the tragedy of his death at her hands. Thank you to ccccookie, iceypeach, Bethany, shirochanxmomo1220, Snowy Peach Tsubasa, killerbunny78, blackshadow, and Gothic Queen for reviewing. Please review everyone! Reviews equal better, longer chapters updated more frequently. 


	22. Evil Plan

Author's Note: I know that I haven't been using the Japanese suffix titles, but I've decided for Aizen to be called by his minions as Aizen-_Sama_. The alternatives of 'Lord Aizen' or 'Master Aizen' just didn't seem quite right to me. Please forgive this slight variance in my writing style.

I do not own Bleach

**Chapter 22**

Evil Plan

Sousuke Aizen sat in his immense marble throne room with a twisted smile on his face. He was watching the video of Ruby Nicontrabetharox weeping over her dead friend. Things were working out quite well. At first Aizen had been concerned that the existence of a spy had become known to Seireitei, but Ruby's strong emotions towards the dead shinigami would prevent suspicion from falling onto her. This twist of fate was indeed working quite well for Aizen.

Now that Ruby had killed one of her best friends, she could never go back. Now even if her pain conditioning by some miracle wore off, she would still serve Aizen out of shame for what she had done. She would always serve him.

The murder of Hanatarou had other uses as well. With the actual killer being the least likely suspect, suspicion would spread. Distrust would be present throughout Seireitei. Disorder would spread, making his conquest of Soul Society even easier.

Aizen turned his attention to another person in the video, Momo Hinamori. He had been quite surprised to learn of how powerful Momo now was. His former Vice-Captain was a relatively strong girl, but of no real significance at the time. That's why he had tried to kill her.

Aizen was quite surprised that the girl survived at all. Lucky did not even begin to describe Momo Hinamori; if his blade had pierced her a mere centimeter further to the right, she would have died for certain. Of course it had seemed like she would die anyways at the time as his blade had gone straight through her heart. Unohana's arrival was all that saved her.

Aizen wished that Momo would have developed her new powers before he left. As she was before, she would have happily followed him to Hueco Mundo. Now things would be trickier; she no longer had her naïve devotion to him and was fully aware of his deeds. Her feelings towards him were extending into hatred, a feeling that Aizen would once have thought impossible for Momo to feel towards anybody, let alone her beloved captain.

Now things would be much more difficult. Having snapped out of her total devotion to him, he knew that she would be much more difficult to manipulate. If she continued developing at her current rate, she would become a direct threat to him. Before she reached that level, he would have to either recruit her to his side or eliminate her. He was confident that he could find some method of gaining control of her; and if that didn't work he would simply kill her.

Just then, Aizen felt a familiar reiatsu at the doorway of the throne room.

"Come in Gin, Ulquiorra," he said.

The massive marble doors opened, revealing Gin Ichimaru, his second in command, and Ulquiorra Schiffer, the Fourth espada and his most loyal arrancar minion. The two bowed before Aizen.

"You wished to see us, Aizen-Sama?" Ulquiorra asked in his usual monotone voice.

"Yes," Aizen said, "We will be accelerating our plans, go make the preparations."

"Yes, Aizen-Sama," Ulquiorra said, walking out of the throne room, leaving just Gin and Aizen.

"So yer goin' after dear little Momo I see. It'll be nice to see her again," he said with his signature smile.

"She is developing much faster than anticipated," Aizen replied, "I am confident that we can win her to our side though. As much as she'd like to deny it, I'm sure that theres a small part of her that is still loyal to me. This plan will expand that. One way or another, Hinamori's fate will be in our hands."

Aizen and Gin grinned evilly. Within one week, Momo Hinamori would either be serving Aizen or dead.

* * *

Will Aizen's plan work? Will he be able to convince Momo to join him? Find out next chapter. If I receive a bunch of reviews, I may update as early as tomorrow. Thank you to ccccookie, jster1983, girl-of-anime, shirochanxmomo1220, killerbunny78, Snowy Peach Tsubasa, and iceypeach for reviewing; your reviews directly resulted in this chapter being updated so fast.


	23. Materialization

I do not own Bleach

Chapter 23

Materialization

Momo stood alone in the Fifth division's outdoors training area. She had ordered it cleared so that she could train in peace. The place was very similar to the training area of the Eleventh division, with grey boulders and cliffs surrounded by a small grove of trees. The only real difference was that it was much closer to other divisions, so she put up a special barrier that deflects sound to ensure that she would not attract unwanted attention to herself.

Three days had passed since Hanatarou's funeral, and Momo worked tirelessly to strengthen herself. Seeing Ruby so devastated by Hanatarou's death had really shown Momo the reality and desperation of the situation. She had been training leisurely and having dates with Hitsugaya while Aizen had been mobilizing. She was now completely dedicated to bringing down Aizen.

In the past three days, Momo had grown tremendously. She had increased her Kidou abilities, improved her swordsmanship, increased her physical strength, learned advanced shunpo, and most importantly, began to rein in control of her massive reiatsu.

Although she did not have anyone to practice fencing with, she greatly improved her swordsmanship techniques. Also, she could focus her reiatsu onto the blade, making it sharp enough to easily shear through solid rock.

Kidou had always been Momo's strongest area of skill. With her increased power, she managed to vastly strengthen her weaker spells, and at the same time gain control of more advanced spells. She was now able to do 80s level spells without an incantation.

She had gained quick mastery of shunpo. She was also able to do shunpo for a long time without getting winded.

By concentrating reiatsu onto her muscles, she was unbelievably strong, especially in relation to her somewhat small body. As a test of her physical strength, she ripped a tree out of the ground, roots and all. She had also greatly improved her hand-to-hand fighting techniques.

Her greatest accomplishment yet was gaining control of her reiatsu. Before, whenever she released her reiatsu's full strength she would lose he sanity and only focus on gaining more power. Now she was able to access about two thirds of her total power while maintaining her sanity. She still felt a small voice in the back of her head, urging her to gain more power and to use that power to go beyond others, but she was now able to push those thoughts away. She was now completely dedicated to defeating Aizen, and it would not do for her to focus on such things.

Momo decided to take a short break; if she collapsed from exhaustion, she would be unable to train further. She took down the barrier surrounding the area and sat down.

It was only then that she noticed someone standing nearby watching her. It was Hitsugaya.

"Toushiro, what are you doing here?" she asked.

"I wanted to see how you're doing," he said, "I haven't seen you in days and I wanted to make sure that you were all right."

"Thanks Toushiro, but I'm perfectly fine," Momo said.

"How are you progressing with your training?" Hitsugaya asked.

"Excellent," Momo said, "I've gotten a lot stronger, watch this." She drew her zanpakuto, preparing to show him a technique she'd just mastered, when it suddenly started to glow pink. The blade dissolved into a pink mist that reformed itself in the shape of a person. When the mist cleared, Momo realized who it was.

"Tobiume!" Momo said surprisedly, "You finally materialized, does this mean-"

"Yes," Tobiume said, "you are ready for Bankai training."

Momo bowed, "Thank you Tobiume, for judging me worthy." Momo looked up and realized that Tobiume was no longer standing in front of her. She turned around and saw Tobiume standing in front of Hitsugaya. Hitsugaya seemed quite weirded out from this pink-eyed, loose-haired double of Momo.

Tobiume moved so that her grinning face was just a few inches away from his, "Hey cutie, whats up?" she said.

"Umm, I'm okay I guess," Hitsugaya said nervously.

"Tobiume, leave Toushiro alone!" Momo said.

"Its okay, Toshi doesn't mind," Tobiume said.

"T-Toshi…" Hitsugaya said. Tobiume merely grinned.

"Hey Toshi," she said to Hitsugaya, "you wanna go to the beach?"

"Tobiume cut it out!" Momo said.

"So what do you say, Toshi?" Tobiume said, completely ignoring Momo.

"Umm, I'm kinda involved with Momo. Also, Seireitei doesn't have a beach." Hitsugaya said.

"Don't worry, I practically am Momo. I'm basically an extension of her, but enough about me, lets talk about extensions of _you_," She whispered seductively.

"Tobiume!" Momo shouted.

"Tobiume, please. I'm only interested in Momo," Hitsugaya said, trying to stop this before it got out of hand.

"I know, and she's very interested in you. Y'know, she dreams about you all the time. In fact, just last night she had a _very_ fun dream about you." Tobiume said with a giggle.

"TOBIUME!!" Momo screamed, her face bright red.

Tobiume giggled, "Okay, okay, I'll stop. Now lets begin some Bankai training."

* * *

Thanks for reading! Please Review!


	24. Chapter 24

A/N: I know this is a short chapter and I'm sorry, the original version was much longer and included several extra scenes, but it offset the flow of the story. Therefore, I broke it up into pieces. Don't worry, the next chapter will be longer.

I do not own Bleach

**Chapter 24**

Hitsugaya sat anxiously in the Fifth Division headquarters vice-captains office. He had volunteered to do Momo's paperwork while she was busy training, but in reality, he wanted to be as close to Momo as possible. As soon as Tobiume materialized, Momo began her Bankai training. Bankai training was an extremely personal experience, and Momo had asked to be alone while she worked on it. Hitsugaya honored her wishes, but he still worried.

Bankai training was a very strenuous activity, and Momo had been working on it for the past two days without food or sleep. Hitsugaya was very worried about her safety. There was a very real chance that she would be severely injured in the training process. Hitsugaya wanted to protect her, but at the same time wondered if she needed it.

He cared so much about Momo, and he had always dedicated himself to protecting her. But now that Momo was more powerful than him, would she still need it? Would she still need him? He felt the need to protect her, yet it seemed that she could protect herself now. He pushed the thoughts away; they wouldn't help anything. He would have to put aside such thoughts for Momo's sake. If Momo were ever in danger, he would be there to protect her.

After waiting some time, he decided that he would go check on her. She needed rest, and he had to make sure that she wasn't overworking herself. He quickly went to the training grounds. When he arrived, Momo's barrier wasn't up. Hitsugaya, fearing the worst, ran through the area, searching for Momo. Finally, he found her lying unconscious under a tree.

"Momo!" He said shaking her. She didn't stir. Hitsugaya began to panic. "Momo, wake up!" Hitsugaya knew that he needed to get her to the Fourth division right away. He picked her up and carried her to the Fourth division medical center as fast as he could. When he arrived, the Fourth division medical staff promptly took her to a room and set her in a bed. Unohana arrived several minutes later.

"What happened to her?" Unohana said.

"I don't know, she was doing her Bankai training and I went to check on her. When I arrived she was like this." Hitsugaya said in a rush. Unohana nodded and quickly began to examine Momo. After several minutes, she stood up and smiled.

"Vice-Captain Hinamori will be fine," she said, "It would appear that she was merely very tired."

Hitsugaya breathed a sigh of relief.

"Oh and one more thing," Unohana said with a smile, "It would appear that she was successful in obtaining Bankai."

In Las Noches, Aizen watched the scene unfolding with a wicked grin. So Momo had obtained Bankai. She would now be either a great threat or a great asset to Aizen. Aizen smiled to himself, it was time to put his plan to test. Chuckling to himself, he sent Ruby an order: Kill Momo Hinamori.

* * *

Thanks for reading everyone! I'm sorry that this chapter is so short. I tried making it longer, but then it ended up being really long, so I ended up breaking it into pieces. Thank you to ccccookie, shirochanxmomo1220, Snowy Peach Tsubasa, iceypeach, Bethany, and girl-of-anime for reviewing. Please review!


	25. Chapter 25

I do not own Bleach

**Chapter 25**

Despite Hitsugaya's best efforts in keeping the matter a secret, word of Momo's achievement of Bankai soon spread throughout Seireitei. By the time Momo woke up that afternoon, everyone knew. It came as a shock to most shinigami, who were unaware of Momo's extreme boost in reiatsu. To them, it was amazing how a Vice-Captain could suddenly attain Bankai. People had all sorts of reactions.

In the Fifth Division, the atmosphere was full of excitement. Now that their Vice-Captain had obtained Bankai, it was only a matter of time until she was promoted to Captain. They all looked forward to that, for it would mean that they would regain their glory that they had lost in the absence of a Captain.

Captain-Commander Yamamoto was very pleased with this new development. The Seireitei now had another Bankai-user that could fight against Aizen. With his powerful arrancar army, Aizen would not be defeated easily, and Momo could tip the balance in Seireitei's favor.

Hitsugaya had many emotions. He was glad that Momo had attained such a great level of power; he was worried that this would put her in danger; and, although he didn't admit it himself, he was a little upset because this meant that she needed his protection less now. Overall though, he was very happy for her.

Renji was happy for his old classmate. He visited to give her a few quick pointers on the initial use of Bankai, warning her of his and Ichigo's experiences of using Bankai too fast too early.

Kenpachi was very pleased that she had managed to reach Bankai. Even though he only trained her for a day, he considered her to be something of a student, and felt a bit of pride in her. Momo in turn thanked him, for it was his training that helped her to unlock a greater extent of her powers.

Matsumoto took her congratulations to a new level, and promptly organized a 'Bankai Party' to be held that night, despite Momo and Hitsugaya's protests. She promised them that it would be terrific, and she organized it so quickly that Momo had little choice but to attend.

One person was not celebrating. Ruby lied in her bed crying. She had just received Aizen's latest order and she had no choice but to obey it. She would have to kill Momo. Killing Hanatarou was completely eating her up from the inside, she wasn't sure if she could handle doing it again. At this thought pain began to creep through her body, as if finely pointed fish hooks were being carefully slid into her skin, ready to be painfully ripped out if she had any further thoughts of defying Aizen. Ruby quickly amended her thoughts; of course she could kill Momo for it was Aizen's will.

As she thought this, the pain receded. She cried to herself, she was not even free to think for herself. She wanted so much to die, to simply stop the suffering, but she could not. If she were dead she would be unable to carry out Aizen's orders.

Ruby cursed herself for being so weak that she was too weak to resist this. Logically, she knew that very few would be able to stand against Aizen after what she'd been through, but emotionally she blamed herself and her weakness. Because she couldn't resist Aizen's orders Hanatarou was dead and Momo would be dead shortly. She wondered how much longer this would go on; how many friends she would have to kill?

But her feelings didn't matter. It was Aizen's command that she would kill Momo Hinamori, and tonight she would do so. The choice was not hers to make. She could only cry.

The party that Matsumoto organized was almost ready. Located in a spare room of the Fifth division, it had all sorts of things to do and all of Momo's friends were coming. Matsumoto, Renji, Hitsugaya, and Kira would of course be there. Ichigo and Orihime were invited as well. Shunsui Kyoraku originally wasn't going to be invited, but seeing as he would come anyways, they decided to invite him. Others who would come included Hisagi, Ikkaku, Rukia, Ukitake, Kiyone, Sentarou, Shingo Kusanagi and several other members of the Fifth division.

After everyone had arrived, the party started. People congratulated Momo and gave her words of encouragement when they arrived, but overall Momo wasn't really the focus of the party. Most of the other people were eating, talking, playing cards, and drinking sake. Momo didn't really mind, for she enjoyed seeing her friends happy, but she was somewhat bored. At first she had Hitsugaya to talk to, but a drunken Kyoraku put a Kidou spell on Hitsugaya's Captain's Haori to make it start flying around. Hitsugaya ran out to retrieve it, leaving behind a bored Momo.

Momo sighed. It wasn't that she was selfish, but this was her party so she felt that she should be playing a bigger part in it. She sighed again and looked over at a nearby table with several bottles on it. She'd never tried Sake before…

Hitsugaya chased his Haori around the Fifth division. He felt strangely vulnerable without it; a lot of his authority came from it. Without it, he just looked like some kid. It wasn't particularly fast, but it always was just out of his reach. It would hover infuriatingly close to him before darting higher into the air.

Finally, he caught it and returned to the party. When he arrived he didn't see Momo. He began to look around for her. When he passed around a corner, a figure that jumped onto his back. It was Momo.

"Momo! What are you doing?" Hitsugaya yelled.

"Hey," Momo said, her voice slurred, "I always gave you the horsy ride when we was little! Its your turn now Shiro-Chan! Giddyyup!" She kicked him in the sides.

"Momo what on earth are you doing? Wait, are you drunk!?" He said exasperatedly. As if he needed to ask.

"Come on Shiro-Chan, you gotta give me my horsey ride!" Momo said playfully.

Hitsugaya's legs were wobbling, were he not a captain he would have fallen over already from the larger girl clinging to his back. "Momo, get off of me! I can barely stand up!" He said.

"Awwww, come on," she said, shaking his shoulders. At this point, Hitsugaya couldn't stand anymore and came crashing to the ground.

"Let do that again!" Momo said excitedly. Luckily, Orihime had heard the crash, and she arrived to rescue Hitsugaya before Momo could make him give her another horsey ride.

"Momo, come on, you should go home now." Orihime said, helping Momo up. From the floor, Hitsugaya muttered his thanks to her, unable to stand up quite yet.

Orihime guided Momo to her apartment. She took her to her bedroom and helped her get into her nightclothes. She gave her a glass of water and told her to drink it and go to sleep. Momo complied and quickly fell asleep. Quite tired herself, Orihime walked out to the couch and fell into a deep sleep.

After Momo and Orihime were asleep, a figure crept into the apartment. She went into Momo's room where the girl was sleeping restfully. Ruby took out her sword and prepared to do what she had intended to do. She was going to kill Momo Hinamori.

A tear slid down Ruby's cheek. Seeing Momo lying so helpless like this, completely unaware of her imminent death, made Ruby unbearably sad. Walking over to Momo's side, she lifted the sword and positioned it over Momo's heart. She wanted this to be as quick as possible for Momo. She hoped that Momo wouldn't be alive long enough to realize who was killing her.

"I'm so sorry Momo," Ruby said in a barely audible whisper, tears streaming down her cheeks, "I hope you would forgive me." A pain shot through Ruby, she was wasting time. The pain was horrible; she had to end it.

Ruby gripped the sword and raised it slightly, preparing to plunge it into Momo's heart. Closing her eyes, she brought the sword down. She felt it pierce Momo's chest and go through her with a horrible wet crunch. She felt some of Momo's warm blood spatter onto her hand. She heard Momo giving a pained gasp followed by a raspy, drawn out breath. Then there was silence.

Ruby's eyes overfilled with tears. She had done it, she had killed Momo. Sweet, innocent Momo was now dead. First Hanatarou, now Momo; she was being forced to kill her friends off one by one. She knew that the pain from her conditioning was gone, but she was now in even more pain than before. The feeling of having killed her friend was unbearable.

Ruby opened her eyes and she realized with a shock that Momo wasn't dead. Her sword had stopped an inch above Momo. Momo continued to breath peacefully. The pain from before returned, urging her to kill Momo. But Ruby couldn't do it now. She removed her sword from above Momo and placed it in its sheath.

The pain consumed her, but she did not give into it. It was not nearly as bad as what she had felt in those few moments that she thought she had killed Momo. She would not do this anymore, she refused to serve Aizen anymore. The pain exploded within her, but she refused to let it control her. She staggered out of Momo's apartment and prepared to set things right.

Momo woke up the next morning with a throbbing pain in her head. She vaguely remembered drinking a whole bottle of sake last night. Cursing to herself, she got dressed and walked out of her bedroom. The appealing scent of eggs and sausage greeted her. Orihime stood in the kitchen, preparing the food. A large plate of scrambled eggs and sausages sat on the counter.

Orihime looked up. "How are you feeling?" she said.

"Uuuuhhhh," was all Momo could say.

"That bad, huh," Orihime said. "Well have some food, hopefully you'll feel better."

Murmuring her thanks, Momo took a large plate of scrambled eggs and ten sausages. She promptly ate them, just as Orihime had finished her own batch.

"Thanks," Momo said, "I really feel a lot better now,"

"Your welcome, but why didn't you put any toppings on?" Orihime said.

"Toppings?" Momo looked and realized that there was a large number of unusual toppings on the counter. Orihime proceeded to add them to her scrambled eggs. After mixing caviar, taco sauce, peppermints, and crushed pop-tarts into the mix, she drizzled a large amount of chocolate sauce onto it.

"Now _that's_ how you're supposed to make scrambled eggs," Orihime said, a hint of pride for her creation in her voice. Momo watched Orihime eat the disgusting concoction. Momo put her face in her arms, unable to watch Orihime eating this stuff. After the noise of her eating ended, Momo lifted her head up to find that Orihime had gone back to sleep on the couch. Ichigo was right, Matsumoto _was_ having a bad influence on this girl.

Standing up, Momo prepared to go to her office in the Fifth division. When she walked out, there was somebody waiting for her. It was Ruby. Her eyes were bloodshot and she was horribly pale.

"Ruby!" Momo said, shocked at her friend's appearance, "What's wrong? Why are you here?"

"Momo…I-I'm so sorry," Ruby whispered, "Goodbye." Bloody spurted from Ruby's nostrils and she collapsed to the ground.

Momo screamed. "Ruby! Ruby! Wake up!" Orihime came running out at the sound of Momo screaming and froze at the scene before her. Momo turned to her. "Orihime watch over Ruby. Ruby, don't worry, I'll go get help!" Momo ran towards the Fourth Division.

Ruby lied on the ground, her vision blurry. She was completely engulfed in pain. Every cell in her body seemed to scream. Her skin felt like it was being torn off with white-hot tongs. Her head felt as if a spike were being pounded into it. This was the worst pain she had ever been in. Well, the second most. The most pain she had ever been in were those few moments that she thought that she had killed Momo. Compared to that, this was nothing.

Nevertheless, Ruby knew that because she had so fiercely resisted Aizen's orders, she was now dying. The pain was to an extent that her body was being physically injured. But Ruby beared it, for she knew that this nightmare would be over in several minutes. She was in a way glad that this was finally over, and she was happy that she would die free of Aizen's control.

Ruby slipped her hand into the front of her uniform and partially pulled out a letter. She had written the letter the previous night. It explained everything that had happened to her. She had stayed up all night writing it. The pain attempted to force her to stop, but when she thought of the way she felt when she thought that she'd killed Momo, she was able to muster the resolve to write it. Now everyone would know of her traitorous deeds. She only hoped that her friends would not judge her harshly.

As the pain began to go away, Ruby knew that death was near. She did not fear it, for she was dying free. In her mind she smiled as her vision faded.

* * *

Thank you for reading! I know that I had a lot of you scared when Ruby 'killed' Momo. Sorry about that, it just didn't seem logical for her to simply have had a change of heart all of a sudden, so I included that so that Ruby would realize how it would feel if she killed Momo. Thank you to girl-of-anime, shirochanxmomo1220, Kazeek, Bethany, iceypeach, ccccookie, and Snowy Peach Tsubasa. Please review!


	26. Chapter 26

I do not own Bleach

**Chapter 26**

Aizen was furious. Ruby had completely messed up his plan to turn Momo to his side. Of course he knew that Ruby could not kill Momo; his plan was to have her accidentally wake Momo up while attempting to fight her conditioning. Momo would have seen a figure in her room and killed it, only later realizing it was Ruby. The guilt of killing her friend would have made her much easier to manipulate. It had been the perfect plan but Ruby messed it up. If she somehow survived he would kill her himself. Aizen would now have to take a much more direct course of action. He looked down from his throne at one of his minions.

"Ulquiorra, organize a strike force immediately. Capture Momo Hinamori." He ordered.

"Yes Aizen-Sama," Ulquiorra said. He bowed and walked off. Aizen contemplated his next move. Whatever it was, he knew that the time for being subtle was over.

Momo, Matsumoto, and Hitsugaya stood outside a room in the Fourth Division Medical Center. Inside the room, Unohana was working to save Ruby. They were unsure exactly what happened; after Ruby had collapsed she was taken here. Unohana had been working on her for several hours when she finally opened the door. She had a somber expression on her face.

"Will Ruby be alright Captain?" Momo asked anxiously.

Unohana paused, "She's alive but…she's in bad condition." She gestured for them to come in. They walked into the room. Tears came to Momo's eyes when she saw Ruby. Ruby was lying unconscious on the bed, a ventilator helping her breathe. A strange machine was attached to her head. Momo turned away and cried into Hitsuagaya's shoulder; he hugged her, hoping to calm her. After a minute, Momo was able to ask Unohana a question.

"Captain Unohana, do you you know what's wrong with her?"

Unohana sighed and took out a small slip of paper. "We found this with her." Was all that she said. Momo took it and read it. When she had finished, her hands were shaking and new tears were in her eyes.

"No…" was all she could say. Matsumoto and Hitsugaya read it, their eyes widened.

"Cookie was working for Aizen?" Matsumoto said in disbelief.

"We should have known something was up," Hitsugaya growled, "She's been acting strangely, it all makes sense now."

"How could we possibly have known?" said Momo.

"Not necessarily known, but at least suspected that something was up. The question now is what to do with her." Hitsuagaya said.

"What do you mean Captain?" Matsumoto asked.

"I mean that we should be asking ourselves if we should really be saving her." He said. Momo slapped him across the face.

"How can you say that? Ruby is our friend! She didn't mean to do all of those things," she said.

"I'm saying that she's killed Yamada and passed secrets to Aizen. It's likely she'll be executed even if those things in the letter are taken into account. Besides, the letter seems fishy to me; you should know better than to trust letters left as 'last words'. What if she wasn't being controlled at all?"

"No," Unohana spoke up, "Its true, Ruby has been conditioned by Aizen just as was said in the letter. She cannot go against Aizen's will without experiencing horrible pain. That's what this machine is for," she said, pointing to the device on Ruby's head, "It helps neutralize the effects. Unfortunately it only works partially. Eventually we may be able to get it to work well enough that her conditioning is completely erased. However I fear that this may be in vain, she's suffered such extensive nerve damage that she might never wake up."

Momo cried silently. Hitsugaya hugged her and she began sobbing into her shoulder. After a while, Hitsugaya led Momo out of the room.

"Come with me Momo, I know a place that might calm you down," He said. He led Momo through the Seireitei, eventually reaching the Western Gate. Jidanbou opened the gate and they went into Rukongai. Hitsugaya led Momo to a small stream that ran through an uninhabited field of wildflowers.

"Toushiro, what are we doing here?" Momo asked.

"Don't you remember," Toushiro said with a smile, "This is where we used to play when we were younger."

"No, we played by a different stream, the one in the forest." Momo said in confusion, "What are you talking-" she froze, Hitsugaya dissolved before her eyes.

"Momo Hinamori," a cold emotionless voice said, "Aizen-Sama requests that you come with us."

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Thanks for reading! I want to give super ultra mega huge thanks to shirochanxmomo1220, iceypeach, ccccookie, killerbunny78, Snowy Peach Tsubasa, momo hitsugaya, Bethany, Kazeek, BlackShadowOnTheMoon, and girl-of-anime. Thanks to you guys, last chapter received TEN reviews! That's a new record for this story! As thanks, next chapter will include an awesome fight scene that is super cool! Please review!


	27. Chapter 27

I do not own Bleach

**Chapter 27**

"Momo Hinamori, Aizen-Sama requests that you come with us."

Momo froze in fear. She slowly turned around. Three arrancars stood before her. There was a huge dark skinned arrancar with a ponytail; a female arrancar with dark hair tinted with purple and a small mask fragment on the side of her head, and in the middle a pale arrancar with green lines descending from his eyes. They had her completely cornered; it was useless to run. She looked back helplessly at where Hitsugaya had been a moment before.

"That wasn't the real one idiot!" the female arrancar said with a cruel laugh, "I killed the real Hitsugaya hours ago."

Momo's eyes widened at this. "No… no you're lying!" she cried out. The female arrancar merely laughed even harder. Tears filled Momo's eyes; it couldn't be true, Hitsugaya couldn't be dead. How could her Shiro-Chan die? He was so strong; he just couldn't have died! But she could tell that the arrancar was telling the truth. She could sense that what she said was true, she wasn't lying no matter what Momo would rather believe.

Momo continued to cry, she couldn't help it; she helplessly denied it, even though she knew it was true. "No! You're lying, you're lying, you're lying!" She repeated, wishing that she could believe her words.

"You think I'm lying, huh?" the female arrancar continued cruelly, "You think you're little boyfriend is still alive?" she walked over to some bushes and bent over, "Then what do you make of this?" she pulled out the small lifeless form of Toushiro Hitsugaya. Momo screamed. The arrancar threw Hitsugaya at her. Momo caught him and looked in horror at his unmoving form in her arms. She knew in her heart that this was no illusion; this was the real Toushiro Hitsugaya she was holding. He was covered in cuts and there was a large slash across his stomache, staining his captain's robes with blood. Momo shakily set him down on the ground. She leaned her head down to Hitsugaya's chest, checking for a heart beat; there was none.

"Shiro-Chan," she sobbed into the shoulder of the dead boy, holding him close to her as though that would bring him back. Her heart felt like it had shattered into a million pieces. "No, no, no, no, no, no. This can't be happening. Shiro-Chan! Noooooooooo!" she wailed. He was gone. She'd never hear his voice again; she'd never be able to sit around eating melon with him; she'd never be able to look into his handsome teal eyes again.

"Can't we just grab her now, Ulquiorra?" the large arrancar said.

"Yeah, I'm tired of watching this bitch cry," the female arrancar said.

"Silence Yammy, Yoarashi." The arrancar named Ulquiorra said. He turned to Momo, "So now that your love has been killed, what do you intend to do? You have nothing to stay here for. Why not come to serve Aizen-Sama? We have been ordered to either bring you back as an ally or to kill you. It's your choice, which will it be?"

Momo stood up, her eyes filled with determination and tears. "I will never serve Aizen." She growled drawing her zanpakuto. She knew that she couldn't win, that this was hopeless for her. She didn't care though. She only thought of avenging Toushiro. Her Bankai was not advanced enough for her to efficiently use in combat, she would have to rely on shikai.

Suddenly she heard a whoosh. Standing ahead of her were Ichigo and Matsumoto, facing the arrancar with their swords drawn. The arrancars continued to simply stand there, although Yammy and Yoarashi seemed to become slightly more tense.

"We sensed that you were in severe distress and came." Ichigo said.

Matsumoto nodded, "What have these assholes done to you Momo?" Momo couldn't respond, she merely made a whimpering noise. Matsumoto turned around; her eyes widened in horror.

"Captain!" she screamed. She ran over to him. Ichigo looked over his shoulder his eyes also wide, but he still maintained his defensive stance in case the arrancars attacked while Matsumoto was off guard.

"Oh no… Wake up Captain!" she said, her eyes teary. Momo put her hand on Matsumoto's shoulder, here eyes also filled with tears.

"I'm sorry Rangiku," she said quietly, tears dripping down her face, "he's dead." Matsumoto put her hand over her mouth.

"No…" was all that she said. She stood back up, facing the arrancars defiantly. "You'll pay for doing this to my captain." She said.

"Which one of you did this?" Ichigo said angrily.

"That would be me," Yoarashi said snidely, "Now lets get the talking over with and settle this. Aizen wants the girl and we're not leaving until she's joined us or is dead."

Ichigo, Momo, and Matsumoto took their stances.

Matsumoto decided against using her zanpakuto's abilities due to the circumstances of the enemy and kept it in its sealed state, but Ichigo and Momo activated their zanpakuto.

"Snap! Tobiume!" Momo cried; her blade straightened and produced several prongs along the sides. Momo seemed to glow with energy.

"Bankai!" Ichigo shouted; his blade shrank to a thinner black blade and he was now wearing a black cloak, "Tensa Zangetsu." He said.

They each picked their targets. Momo circled around to face Toushiro's killer, Yoarashi. Matsumoto advanced on Yammy. Ichigo prepared to engage Ulquiorra. In an instant, the fight had begun. Momo's blade was locked with Yoarashi's. Ulquiorra used his arm as if it were a sword, blocking Ichigo's attack. Yammy likewise blocked Matsumoto's attack, although it seemed to put some strain on his iron skin.

Ichigo continued his attack on Ulquiorra. He did not want to use his vizard mask in front of Momo and Matsumoto so he had to rely on Bankai alone. Ulquiorra calmly blocked his attacks, but was slowly being driven backwards. Ichigo's attacks were too strong to merely defend against, so Ulquiorra began performing his own attacks, stopping Ichigo's advancement. The two continued to attack and block eachother's attacks.

Matsumoto was having some difficulty with Yammy. He was a slow, dull brute but he was powerful. Matsumoto was forced to use acrobatic maneuvers to attack the much larger arrancar. She could barely breach his iron skin. She focused her reiatsu onto her blade and leapt at him, successfully slashing his shoulder. Yammy cried out in pain. He soon began his offensive in earnest. He delivered a powerful punch. Matsumoto dodged it but it set her off balance. In that moment, Yammy fired a bala that, while only grazing her, severely burned her left arm. She cursed and began to slide into a more defensive stance as Yammy took advantage of her injury.

Momo fought furiously with Yoarashi. Yoarashi was incredibly fast and easily kept pace with Momo, despite her improved strength; Momo would have to use strategy to defeat her. She jumped into the air and came down with a powerful overhead strike. Yoarashi barely blocked it, and her sword shook when Momo's sword made contact. In that moment of weakness for Yoarashi, Momo unleashed a burst of pink energy at her. A large explosion occurred and Momo was thrown backwards, landing perfectly on her feet. When the smoke cleared, Yoarashi was panting and parts of her clothes were singed, but she was mostly unharmed by the huge explosion. This startled Momo, who had expected that blast to badly wound her.

"Ha! You thought that would defeat me?" She said with a sneer. She lifted up the sleeve of her left shoulder, revealing a tattoo of a five. "That's my rank. I am the fifth most powerful arrancar; you don't stand a chance! I'll kill you just like your little boyfriend!"

Enraged that she would speak so demeaningly of Toushiro, Momo recklessly attacked. She launched a series of rough chops back and forth at Yoarashi. Yoarashi easily blocked her haphazardly executed attacks and soon she had regained the upper hand. Yoarashi attacked with precise stabs and short slashes, using them so efficiently that she had soon driven Momo back. Momo was furious at her. She had snatched away her true love and mocked her for it. Momo launched a ball of concentrated energy. Yoarashi dodged it.

"Is that the best you can do? I guess it is if you dated that weak little brat over there," she said, gesturing at Hitsugaya's dead body. Completely enraged at her taunt, Momo launched a huge energy ball at Yoarashi that created a huge crater. Yoarasi had dodged it yet again though, and Momo continued launching energy balls at her.

Ichigo was locked in a stalemate with Ulquiorra. Neither could significantly harm the other, yet they continued to ferociously attack one another.

Matsumoto's left arm was badly burned and she had several bruises from Yammy's attacks. She saw that Momo and Ichigo were faring poorly and decided that she needed to end this so that she could help. She leapt back, preparing to use an experimental Kidou that she had developed herself.

"Harvest of the fields. Turned to mash. Barrels wait for months. Bakudo 59, Nihonshu!" (A/N: Nihonshu is a Japanese word for sake ; )

A ripple seemed to go through the air, hitting Yammy. He began to stumble. "Damn you! What did you do to me?" He fired a bala but it missed Matsumoto by a large distance. He stumbled around for a bit before falling over.

Matsumoto ran to help Momo. Momo was engaged fiercely with Yoarashi. Matsumoto began to come forward but Momo called out to her.

"Rangiku, let me deal with her on my own. I need to avenge Toushiro." Momo said. Matsumoto honored her wishes and backed away.

"Avenge?! If I were you, I'd be more concerned with surviving." With that, she rushed forward and swung her sword in a wide horizontal arc, gravely wounding Momo. A deep wound on her side gushed blood and Momo fell to her knees.

"Momo!" Matsumoto screamed. She rushed forward.

"Hadou 1, Thrust!" Momo said. Matsumoto was pushed backwards by Momo's Kidou. Momo shakily stood up. "Please Rangiku, I must attempt this on my own, even if it costs me my life." Matsumoto's eyes teared up at this. To Momo, life meant nothing without her Shiro-Chan; she would avenge him or die trying.

Yoarashi was laughing cruelly, "You'd sacrifice your life for some pitiful attempt to avenge that weakling? You're dumber than he was! You're worthless and he was worthless!"

At this, Momo's rage became too much to control. She wanted to kill this woman no matter what the cost. Her Reiatsu increased dramatically, making the air seem to thicken.

"Bankai!"

* * *

Thanks for reading. I'll be really nice and give you a hint for next chapter: AKIBNA-BUITOEM ISARMLI MIREHOI. If you can figure this clue out…wow. In any case, thank you to my reviewers momo hitsugaya, shirochanxmomo1220, ccccookie, iceypeach, Snowy Peach Tsubasa, girl-of-anime, and Kazeek. Please review.


	28. Bankai

I do not own Bleach

**Chapter 28**

_Bankai_

"Bankai!" Momo screamed. Her eyes were filled with tears from losing her true love and anger from her foe mocking him. Momo was immediately surrounded by a mass of pink energy. Wind howled from the huge force of her reiatsu. A cyclone of energy seemed to whirl around her. All of the combatants of the battle were temporarily blinded by the bright light.

Finally the whirlwind of energy abruptly ceased, revealing Momo. All eyes stared at her, unable to believe what they saw. Momo was no longer wearing her shinigami robes. Instead, she was wearing what appeared to be a lightweight dark gray shirt that only covered her chest and upper arms, leaving her stomach bare. She was now wearing skintight black pants that stopped halfway between her knees and ankles. She had a large, flowing cape that was black on the outside and a deep pinkish purple on the inside.

But it wasn't her new clothes that surprised those present. Momo had changed. She somehow no longer resembled a girl, but instead a woman. She was now several inches taller and was somewhat more muscular than before. Her hair was long and flowing now, no longer in its neat bun. She seemed to radiate strength and power.

"Tobiume Mankai," Momo said. (_Flying Plum Tree Full Bloom_)

After a moment of silence, Yoarashi burst into laughter. "That's it?" she said, "That's your Bankai? Those clothes look nice on you, but that's not going to help you in combat! You even lost your sword, what kind of Bankai is that?" she shrieked with laughter.

Momo smirked, her eyes suddenly flaring up with a pink glow. Dozens of pink fireballs formed around her. They flew up into the sky, circling Yoarashi before coming crashing down creating a huge explosion. Yoarashi managed to shield her self from most of the blast, only getting a few small burns. She looked at where Momo was standing only to find that she wasn't there. The next thing she knew, Momo was above her, a fistful of raw energy in the palm of her hand. Momo released this energy, hitting Yoarashi and causing a huge explosion.

Yoarashi failed to avoid damage this time. Much of her arrancar uniform was singed and she was badly burned. She cursed at Momo, and raised her hand gathering red energy in her palm. She released a cero blast that blasted through where Momo was, but Momo was no longer there. She was standing several meters away from Yoarashi. Yoarashi stared dumbfounded.

"My Bankai allows me to manifest my reiatsu in any way I choose," she said, "That can be as attacks, weapons, or even copies of myself." She put out her hand, and a katana materialized and floated into her hand. "In addition," she said, "It augments my speed and strength." With that, Momo leapt at Yoarashi, and attacked with incredible power. Momo easily overpowered Yoarashi with her attacks. She struck with extreme power and grace; Yoarashi was on the defensive now, barely able to keep up with Momo's relentless attacks.

Meanwhile, Ichigo was still fighting Ulquiorra. He was beginning to lose ground, and finally, Ulquiorra delivered a devastating strike that threw Ichigo into a tree, badly injuring him. He began to calmly walk forward to deliver the finishing blow, but Momo saw this. She gathered her energy and created a wall of pink energy around Ulquiorra, Yoarashi, and herself.

"Rangiku, take care of Ichigo!" Momo shouted. Matsumoto nodded. Momo took a deep breath as Ulquiorra moved to join the fight. She would not be able to defeat both of them. She thought only of avenging Hitsugaya. Her love was dead; she did not care what happened to her as long as those responsible paid for it.

"I don't need your help Ulquiorra!" Yoarashi yelled, "Poke, Aguja! (needle)." Releasing her zanpakuto, she was now in her true form. Long spikes of metal extended from her hands. Her back had numerous blades sticking out of it, as well as what appeared to be four metallic spider legs, each ending in a sharp point. Her body was covered in an armor of needles. Her mask was now a metallic band around her head with spikes extending from the sides.

Momo began charging energy in her hand, but one of the metal legs extended suddenly, causing her to stop in order to dodge or risk impalement. Yoarashi laughed, but Momo soon turned the tables again, releasing a blast of energy at her. Her needle armor absorbed it, but Momo realized that it would not be able to withstand a strong energy attack. An idea struck her.

Momo opened her hand and began to gather energy in her palm. She aimed the energy and released it, creating a powerful beam of pink energy. It directly hit Yoarashi. When the smoke cleared, most of her armor had fallen off, as had the metallic spider legs.

"Damn you… How did you do a cero? No shinigami can do that!" She said angrily.

"I told you, Tobiume Mankai can manifest my power however I choose. I chose to use it to recreate the attack that you used earlier." Momo said with a smirk, "Here, I'll show you again."

Once again Momo gathered the energy in her palm and released it in the form of a cero, but this time, Ulquiorra appeared in front of the blast, deflecting it with one hand. He sonidoed forward, and stabbed Momo in the stomache with his hand. Matsumoto screamed at the sight of this. Blood trickled out of Momo's mouth. A look of determination entered her eyes, and she gathered her loose reiatsu to throw Ulquiorra backwards.

Leaning on her sword, her eyes glowed pink and bits of energy began to flow through the air, reforming the damaged tissue on her stomach. It was as if nothing had happened. Momo rushed forward with a powerful sideways slash that Ulquiorra blocked with his hand. He attempted to stab her again, but this time she was ready and caught Ulquiorra's hand with her own. He disappeared for a moment and reappeared directly above her. He was charging a cero on his finger. It was too late to dodge it. Momo created a shield above her just as Ulquiorra released a blast of green energy. Momo created an energy whip and used it to immobilize his arms.

Preparing her finishing move, Momo Gathered up twenty balls of explosive energy and prepared to bring them down on Ulquiorra.

"Chime, Suzumushi."

* * *

Thanks for reading! Thank you to ccccookie, shirochanxmomo1220, Kazeek, Snowy Peach Tsubasa, iceypeach, girl-of-anime, and blackshadowonthemoon for reviewing. I know this chapter wasn't particularly good, but it was hard to word what Momo's Bankai is like. It seemed really awesome in my head. The name "Tobiume Mankai" didn't sound as cool as I thought, but since 'Full Bloom' was the best description for it, that's what I did. Again, the code for the cool plot twist is AKIBNA-BUITOEM ISARMLI MIREHOI. If you get it right, I'll tell you a super cool secret. Please review!


	29. Chapter 29

I do not own Bleach

**Chapter 29**

Ukitake, Kyoraku, Nanao, and Kira were in Ukitake's office. They were discussing routine paperwork when there was a knock on the door. Ukitake rose to answer it. It was Orihime.

"What brings you here, Miss Inoue?" Ukitake asked.

"Captain Ukitake, have you seen Vice-Captain Hinamori? She didn't return to her apartment. I checked at the tenth division building and I couldn't find her. Ichigo, Captain Hitsugaya and Matsumoto are all gone as well. I'm worried about them." Orihime said.

Ukitake was about to tell her that he was sure they were all right when the communicator on his desk began to beep. Sighing, he reached over and pressed a button to answer it.

"Captain Ukitake, this is Vice-Captain Matsumoto requesting immediate assistance," Matsumoto's voice said frantically.

"Calm down Vice-Captain. What happened?" Ukitake asked.

"We were ambushed by three arrancars. Captain Hitsugaya is dead, Ichigo Kurosaki is badly wounded, and Vice-Captain Hinamori has been abducted!" She was becoming hysterical. Everyone's eyes widened in horror.

"We'll be right there!" Ukitake said. Kyoraku turned to Nanao and Kira.

"You two inform the Captain-Commander of what's happened." He said; Nanao and Kira bowed and rushed off.

"Orihime, come with us," Ukitake said. They rushed out and made their way to the coordinates of the source of Matsumoto's transmission. When they arrived they found Ichigo lying on the ground, unconscious but with his wounds bandaged. Matsumoto was sobbing over the lifeless body of Hitsugaya. They rushed over to her, looking on with sadness. Orihime's eyes filled with tears.

"What happened?" Ukitake asked.

"Ichigo and I felt Momo in distress and came to help her," Matsumoto said, "When we got here, Captain Hitsugaya was already dead. He was probably dead for a while beforehand. We fought the arrancar. I won against the one I was engaged with, but Ichigo and Momo refused to let me help them. Momo used her Bankai and was about to defeat her opponent, but then the arrancar Ichigo was fighting knocked him out and began fighting her. She was about to defeat him too when I blacked out. I'm not sure what happened exactly, but when I woke up things were like this." She breathed heavily, having just said so much at once.

Orihime bent down slowly over Hitsugya, when she suddenly gasped. "Rangiku, he's still alive!"

"What? How? I checked him several times and he was definitely dead!" Matsumoto exclaimed, both shocked and happy.

"He's just barely alive. There's something strange…Momo's reiatsu is clinging to him and its patterns are similar to mine. Its like she gave him new life! Hold on, I'll see what I can do." Orihime summoned her fairies to create a golden field of healing around him. After several minutes, his eyes slowly flickered open. Matsumoto teared up and pulled him into a hug.

"Oh Captain, thank god you're alright!" she burst out.

"Get off of me Matsumoto," Hitsugaya said, still slightly disoriented.

"It's a good thing that Momo was here," Orihime said, "I don't know what it was, but something about her Bankai seems to have given you new life, allowing me to heal you."

"Momo…" Hitsugaya muttered, suddenly his eyes widened, "Momo! Where is she? Where's Momo?" He said, turning his head to look for his true love. The other's looked at him sadly.

"I'm sorry Captain…" Matsumoto said quietly. Hitsugaya's eyes widened in understanding.

--

Momo woke up to find her arms and legs bound in some material that seemed to inhibit her reiatsu. She was unsure of where she was.

"Ah, so you're awake my dear little Momo," a sinister voice said. Momo froze and slowly turned around. Standing in front of her was none other than Aizen, flanked by Ichimaru and Ulquiorra.

"You…" she snarled at him. He smiled evilly.

"Now is that any way to speak to your old Captain." He said.

"You're no captain of mine," Momo growled. "Not after what you've done to Ruby and Toushiro!" Aizen continued to smirk.

"I must confess that I was surprised when I found out about your new powers. I never would have expected my sweet little Momo becoming so powerful." He reached over and patted her head like he used to, but unlike those times in the past, she recoiled at his touch rather than being comforted. He bent down to her so that he was face to face with her.

"Join me," he said, "I know of your secret feelings. You crave more power, and I can help to obtain it. Being with the shinigami is holding you back. If you wish to realize your full potential, you have no choice but to follow me." Momo spat in his face in response. Aizen wiped his face off.

"So be it," he said, lifting her up by the collar and taking her into the hallway, "we have other ways of ensuring your loyalty to us." He opened a door to a darkened room, at the center of which was a table with grotesque crab-like arms.

* * *

Thanks for reading everyone! In case you're unaware of what's happening, go reread chapter 14. Also, the clue I gave you 'AKIBNA-BUITOEM ISARMLI MIREHOI' is an anagram for 'TOBIUME-BANKAI SIMILAR ORIHIME'. Makes sense now right? Her bankai is really utilitarian. Thank you to my reviewers, ccccookie, momo hitsugaya, Kazeek, Snowy Peach Tsubasa, blackshadowonthemoon, girl-of-anime, and iceypeach. Please review!


	30. Darkness

I do not own bleach.

**Chapter 30**

_Darkness_

"What! How could they do that?!" Hitsugaya yelled

Ichigo, Orihime, Matsumoto, and Renji stood by Hitsugaya's hospital bed in the Fourth Division. He was conscious but extremely weak. Momo had essentially brought him back from the dead, and Orihime's powers could only heal his physical injuries, not the effects of him being dead for well over an hour. They had just told him that Yamamoto had refused to send forces to rescue Momo. Hitsugaya was outraged.

"We have to get to her," Hitsugaya said desperately, "Aizen has already tried to kill her once, and I fear that now he may do much worse."

"Worse? What do you mean, Captain?" Matsumoto asked.

"I mean that he likely intends to give her the same treatment as Ruby. She's probably being tortured as we speak." The others gasped. Hitsugaya gritted his teeth. He had almost lost Momo once, he would never be able to live with himself if he let it happen again.

"In any case, we need to act fast," Ichigo said, interrupting Hitsugaya's thoughts, "We need to get to her before Aizen can do anything to her."

"Yes but how?" Renji said, "They'll never open a garganta for us and there is no other way to reach Hueco Mundo."

"Wait, there is one way," Orihime said suddenly. The others turned unrepentantly to her. She gave them an unexpected smile, "I think that we should go and say hello to Grimmjow."

--

Momo screamed as every cell in her body seemed to burst into agony. She had been subjected to Aizen's torture table for over six hours. She had yet to give in to even the smallest of his orders. He would give her various orders from simply telling her to say things or telling her to move her legs slightly, and every time she refused. Every time she refused, she was punished with unrelenting pain. It felt as if the flesh were being peeled from her bones. A million red-hot needles seemed to pierce every inch of her skin. The table was capable of such tortures and more.

As the latest burst of pain and torture stopped, Momo panted heavily. Tears flowed down her cheeks from the pain. She couldn't take it; she couldn't stand up to it. She just wanted to die; she probably would sooner or later anyway, so why does Aizen bother with this? Momo had lost her true love, how could Aizen possibly think that this petty pain inflicted by the table was anywhere near the magnitude of pain in her heart right now. It was for this reason that she resisted. For Hitsugaya. For Ruby. Aizen had harmed them and she would never cooperate with him. Even if it ended up costing her life.

Aizen frowned at the resistance Momo was putting up. Most people that he subjected to this would break within a matter of hours. They would have at least submitted to a few of his demands, but Momo was somehow able to refuse. He wouldn't be able to keep this up without the risk of physically harming her. He wanted her as his servant, and if she were to become crippled due to this conditioning, she would become useless to him.

Suddenly an idea struck him. A wonderfully brilliant idea, but at the same time so obvious he couldn't believe he had not thought of it before. He grinned evilly as he thought of this perfect plan. Chuckling to himself, he withdrew a small object resembling a marble from his pocket.

Momo's perception of reality was warped as she underwent such torture. All she could perceive was that she was suddenly released from the table and on her hands and knees. She was sweating and breathing heavily. She felt so small and weak. She had thick golden bracelets on her wrists that essentially made her completely powerless. A door opened, casting a beam of yellow light into the darkened room. Momo looked up to see Aizen standing over her, a wicked smile on his face. Momo clenched her teeth, but she was too weak to do anything.

Aizen bent down and put his hand under Momo's chin, lifting her face up towards him.

"Is my dear little Momo ready to serve me yet?" he asked.

Momo jerked away from his touch. "Never, you monster." Aizen chuckled to himself.

"A 'monster' you say? I have to say that hurts my feelings Momo. You should be punished for it. As punishment…" He said with a devilish grin, pulling out the small black object, "…I will make you a monster." Momo realized what the object was and her eyes widened in horror. She tried to scramble away, but Aizen slammed the Hougokyu into Momo's forehead.

Momo screamed as what appeared to be black static electricity danced upon her body. She had never screamed louder in her life. This was the worst pain ever; worse than when she was stabbed; worse than when she was on the table a short while earlier. This went well beyond mere physical pain. Her very soul was being ripped apart, a cold feeling enveloping her. She felt as though an icy dagger had been plunged into her heart, releasing a cold poison into her veins. She blacked out from the sheer agony of it.

Aizen smirked. Sleep well Momo, you will be mine soon enough.

Momo woke up in an empty room with dim yellow lights. The first thing she noticed was that she was no longer restrained by the bracelets. She attempted to reach out with her reiatsu to use a Kidou spell, but when she began to tap into it, she immediately stopped. Her reiatsu felt cold, as if it were ice. Momo did not like this, she felt alone and scared, but as the time went by she felt a new emotion that she had rarely tapped into before. She was angry. Her rage and hatred built up inside of her. Rage and hatred towards Aizen.

He dared to kill her true love. Hitsugaya's life belonged to her, Momo, not Aizen. She felt as though she had nothing now, she would need to find something new to give herself meaning. A thought struck her. Why have something, when she could have everything? Aizen had sealed her powers when she arrived. He feared her; he thought her to be stronger than him. She could overthrow him. It could be her sitting atop the throne he used. It could be her who commands the arrancar army. She needed more power, what she had wasn't enough. She would kill Aizen and conquer Soul Society in his place. She could do it; she would do it.

As she thought this, her power swelled. It was that same cold feeling, but Momo liked it now. She instinctively knew what was going on, she knew that Aizen had given her hollow powers. But unlike the rumored Vaizard she had heard about, there was no hollow within her. No separate entity that might gain control of her. The Hougokyu had made her part hollow, enmeshing hollow powers into her soul. This would be Aizen's downfall. He had made her into the perfect blend of Hollow and Shinigami, neither one dominant but both perfectly enmeshed together.

Her power swelled. She could feel it coursing through her. Her powers seemed to stretch from horizon to horizon in her mind. Suddenly, a violent whirlwind of deep purple energy engulfed her. Her Bankai was initiating automatically, despite not having Tobiume with her. Her aura was no longer pink, but a deep purple with a hint of blue. Her clothes were similar to how they had been before in bankai, but were now jet black; he cape was now ragged and tattered. She felt her body changing; her muscles swelled; her bones seemed to stretch as she grew taller. The whirlwind dissipitated as Momo was completely in her Bankai state.

Momo examined herself. Unlike her Bankai as it was before, she now bore only a vague resemblance to the girl who had stood in her place just minutes before. Her hair was now a shiny black instead of its normal chocolate brown. She was at least a foot higher than she was before. Muscles bulged from her body. Her face seemed much sharper now, nothing like before. Momo let out a harsh laugh at seeing herself like this. Suddenly a voice came from overhead.

"I'm glad to see you have accessed the full extent of your powers," the voice said. Momo immediately recognized it as Aizen. "Perhaps a test of your powers is in order." The room around her dissolved, and Momo found herself in what appeared to be an indoor arena. In front of her was Yoarashi, Tousen, an older arrancar, and about twenty other arrancar. A feral grin crossed her face.

"Ha, I'm glad I got this chance! I've been waiting to give this little bitch payback!" Yoarashi said.

"Do not forget caution," the older arrancar said.

"Don't worry Berragan, she'll be really easy to-" she was cut off by an indigo cero that vaporized her entire body. The other arrancars stared in horror at Momo as she grinned insanely. The other arrancars leaped into action. They approached her however Momo merely raised her hand. Purplish blue lighting shot from her outstretched fingers hitting all of the lower-ranked arrancar. The energy danced on their body before Momo stopped the surge, their corpses lying smoking on the ground.

Only Berragan and Tousen remained. Momo raised her hand above her head, summoning a whip of purple energy. It wrapped around berragan. Momo laughed hysterically and raised her hand again, causing ten swords to appear out of thin air. They surrounded Berragan and in an instant, simultaneously impaled him. He slumped over dead.

Tousen leaped into the air, knowing he must finish Momo immediately.

"Benihiko!" He said as metal spikes formed in the air. The spikes rained down upon Momo. Tousen landed on the ground, sheathing his sword. Suddenly, he felt an invisible force grab him, lifting him into the air. The smoke cleared, revealing Momo standing amid the metal spikes. Her hand was outstretched and her fingers were spread out like an eagle's talons. Tousen struggled against the force holding him but it was futile.

"Aizen-Sama! Please assist!" he yelled. Nothing happened.

"It would appear that Aizen has no more use for you," Momo said with a sneer, "Goodbye you worthless insect." Her fingers closed, and Momo's reiatsu came crashing into Tousen from all sides, causing his body to implode. Momo watched the body fall into the ground and broke into manic laugher.

Aizen watched on, a smile crossing his face. _Momo Hinamori, you are mine._

* * *

_Good…use your hate. Your turn to the dark side is nearly complete young Skywalk-I mean Hinamori…_LOL! Sorry, I couldn't resist. Thanks for reading everyone! Just so we're clear, theres no inner hollow in Momo. She's been given with hollow powers that are now completely enmeshed in her soul, causing her darker thoughts and feelings that she already had to come to greater prominence. Thanks to momo hitsugaya, Kazeek, shirochanxmomo1220, animefan615, killerbunny75, ccccookie, iceypeach, Snowy Peach Tsubasa, blackshadowonthemoon, and girl-of-anime for reviewing! Please review!

P.S. I have a poll in my profile that I would like everyone who can to vote in.


	31. Monster

A/N: Remember, Momo doesn't know that Hitsugaya is alive.

I do not own Bleach

**Chapter 31**

"So you want me to open a Garganta to Hueco Mundo so that you can rescue this Hinamori person?"

"That is correct, Grimmjow."

Ichigo, Hitsugaya, Orihime, Matsumoto, and Renji were in the special detention cell that held Grimmjow. They were attempting to persuade him to help them reach Hueco Mundo so that they could rescue Momo. Grimmjow, however, did not seem inclined to help them.

"I see no reason why I should. Your leaders will kill me if I leave, as will Aizen if I return to Hueco Mundo. It's a no-win situation for me, but at least I'll stay alive if I stay in this cell," Grimmjow said.

"Please Grimmjow," Orihime said, "You showed us that you are capable of good already. You helped us when we were in Hueco Mundo last time."

"And look where it got me," Grimmjow retorted, "Give me a reason why I should help you."

"This war will end soon," Hitsugaya said wisely, "If Aizen wins, you will die when he conquers Soul Society. But if you help us, you may be helping to defeat Aizen. The leaders will not ignore that. You may be earning your freedom by coming with us." Grimmjow considered this for a moment before speaking.

"Fine," he said, "But make I want there to be no misunderstanding that if we are caught by your authorities, you will take full blame. Agreed?"

"Agreed," they all said at once.

"Very well, I will help you," Grimmjow said, "get me out of this cell and I'll make the garganta immediately."

Toushiro carefully opened the cell. He kept his guard up in case Grimmjow tried anything. Grimmjow however, seemed to be keeping his word. He walked to the front of the group and raised his hand to create a garganta. The black rift in reality opened up and Grimmjow stepped aside.

"After you," he said. They all went inside, Grimmjow closing the garganta after he entered.

_We're coming Momo._ Hitsugaya thought.

--

Momo paced the room Aizen had given her. Shortly after she had slaughtered Tousen and the Arrancars, she had passed out. When she had woken up, she found the energy binders back on her wrists. The room he had given her was dark, but it had a bed, couch, kitchen, and bathroom. It was built like an ordinary apartment, but to her it was jail.

Now that her monstrous power was bound by the golden bracelets, Momo was her true self again; and being her true self, she was horrified by what she had done. She had been planning to kill Yoarashi, yes, but the others she had mercilessly slaughtered just for the sake of it. She was a monster; her soul was entwined with hollow powers. She knew about Ichigo Kurosaki's inner hollow and how he had to learn to suppress it, but it was different for her.

Momo did not have a hollow inside of her. She was not an arrancar. She was not a Vaizard. She was both a Shinigami _and_ a hollow now. She was the ultimate shinigami/hollow crossbreed. The essence of a hollow had been melded and permanently fused into her soul, as was the evil associated with hollows. She remembered how she had wanted to overthrow Aizen and take his place while she was in that state.

Suddenly, Momo grabbed the lamp on a table and threw it across the room, smashing it to pieces. She had actually _wanted_ to be like Aizen. The man who had hurt her and others so badly, and she wanted to be like him. She was a monster; a demon. She screamed in rage and confusion before running to the bed and sobbing into her pillow.

_Shiro-Chan…Why? Why did you have to die? Why did you have to leave me alone like this?_ She thought as she sobbed into her pillow. She didn't know if she would be able to go on without her true love. Hitsugaya had always been there for her, and for him to suddenly just be gone made everything scary and confusing for Momo. She continued to cry into her pillow. _Shiro-Chan…_

_--_

Aizen sat in his throne-room, his face in a twisted and evil smile. He had done it. Momo Hinamori was now the absolute pinnacle of his work in combining hollows and shinigami. His life's work was complete. She was no shinigami implanted with a hollow or a hollow given shinigami powers. She was no longer a shinigami. He had completely broken down the barrier between shinigami and hollow. She was now a new type of being, neither shinigami nor hollow and many times more powerful than both put together.

He was well aware of her rebellious thoughts, so he had made safeguards. He had made it so that the energy-binding bracelets would be on her for most of the time. He had the means to control her when she was in her more powerful state. She was his to control and he had ways to make her follow his orders without question. He smirked, he couldn't wait to force her to slaughter her friends.

* * *

Thanks for reading everybody! The climax of the story approaches! Thank you to ccccookie, Snowy Peach Tsubasa, Kazeek, killerbunny78, blackshadowonthemoon, and iceypeach for reviewing! Please review everyone!


	32. The Final Battle Begins

I do not own Bleach

**Chapter 32**

_The Final Battle Begins_

Ruby slowly opened her eyes. She could see only blurry images. She forced her eyes open and realized she was lying in a bed in a hospital room.

"You're awake," a calm voice said. Ruby turned her head to the left and saw Captain Unohana standing next to her.

"Um," she said. She had meant to say yes, but all she could manage was um.

"Do you know what happened?" Unohana said patiently.

"Um," Ruby said, shaking her head.

"I'm afraid that you have been used rather badly by Aizen," Unohana said, "You have been tortured and conditioned to do his bidding. But you resisted, and prevented tragedy. However, resisting has caused you a significant degree of physical harm."

Ruby suddenly remembered everything, as if a dam holding back her memories had tumbled down. How she had been captured and tortured. How they had conditioned her to follow Aizen's orders or experience hellish pain. How she had been ordered to steal information and even kill Hanatarou. But then she had been told to kill Momo, and she had fought back. She had collapsed on the ground, certain that she would die.

"Unfortunately," Unohana said sadly, "We were unable to reverse the conditioning. It is still in effect."

"Then why am I not in pain right now?" Ruby asked. Unohana lifted Ruby's hand, placing it on her head where she felt a metallic helmet covering the upper half of her head.

"This device suppresses the pain from your conditioning," Unohana explained, "I have designed an implant that will do the same thing, which we will implant later today. Eventually, it will also help you to shake off the conditioning once and for all."

"But…Why?" Ruby asked, "I passed secrets to Aizen. I killed Hanatarou. I'm a traitor. I'm going to be executed for treason."

"No, you won't," Unohana said, "It has been decided that you were not in control of your actions, and therefore are not responsible for what has happened. You will not be executed." Tears ran down Ruby's cheeks. She did not deserve such forgiveness. Unohana saw this and stood up.

"I'll be back later to implant the device. Please don't blame yourself for what happened," she said kindly before walking away.

Momo was sitting in her room, crying about what she had become. The door suddenly opened. Momo froze and turned around slowly. It was Aizen, his subtle smile making Momo cringe internally.

"What do you want?" she said, tears running down her cheeks, "You've turned me into a monster, now what do you intend to do."

"A monster?" Aizen said, "Do you not realize what you have become? You are the ultimate combination of hollow and shinigami. I have rearranged your very soul so that you are an entirely new type of being stronger than anything the world has ever known. You are more powerful than any being in the universe aside from myself. You are my most prized creation and the perfect servant. You should be thanking me."

"Thank _you_? Never!" Momo said defiantly, "And furthermore, I am not your servant."

"Well let's see what you say about that in your unsealed self…" Aizen said. Momo's one of the bracelets dissolved. She froze, and her demeanor suddenly became much sharper.

"Now before you say anything, let me tell you this," Aizen said, "I have made it so that you can't resist me, so don't try. If you ally yourself with me however, you will be my second in command when I rule the universe. That is the best possible outcome for you. If you accept, I'll give you your first mission."

Momo thought for a moment before grinning wickedly. "I accept," she said, "What is my first mission?"

"It would seem that your former friends have infiltrated Las Noches," Aizen said, "I will lure them into my throne room. I am giving you the task of killing them."

"Yes, I will slaughter them without mercy," Momo said. Aizen grinned and snap his fingers. The bracelet was back on Momo's wrist and she was her normal self again. She collapsed to the floor, her eyes wide at what she had just said. She cried, wishing that she had an inner hollow to blame for it, but she knew that it was completely her that said that. She also knew that she would end up doing exactly what she said.

"Well I will see you when it is time for the mission Momo," Aizen said evilly before leaving.

"Are we going the right way?" Hitsugaya asked.

"Yes, I remember it well, the prison area is right ahead," Orihime said.

"Idiot, they change the position of the halls all the time," Grimmjow said irritably.

"We'll just have to hope they didn't," Ichigo said.

Ichigo, Grimmjow, Orihime, Renji, Hitsugaya, and Matsumoto were running through the halls of Las Noches. They did not know exactly where Momo was being kept. They were greatly disturbed by the lack of resistance. Surely they should have run into some arrancar by now. They knew that it was highly likely that this was a trap, but they continued on, desperate to save Momo.

Finally, after a long time of running, they reached a large white door at the end of the hallway. Glancing uncertainly at eachother, they opened it. They were now in a huge, white room that was mostly empty except for a large throne. In the throne sat…

"Aizen!" they all yelled at once. The door slammed shut behind them locking them in. They were trapped now.

"It's so nice for you to come visit! Even Grimmjow came, how lovely," Aizen said. Grimmjow, Ichigo, Renji, Hitsugaya, and Matsumoto drew their swords in response.

"Bankai! Daiguren Hyourinmaru!" Hitsugaya yelled. Huge wings of ice sprouted from his back.

"Howl, Zabimaru!" Renji yelled, his shikai activating.

"Bankai! Tensa Zangetsu!" Ichigo shouted, his blade shrinking down and turning black.

"Growl! Haineko!" Matsumoto yelled, her zanpakuto turning to dust.

They stood facing Aizen, weapons drawn and ready. Aizen merely smiled down at them with that calm but menacing smile of his.

"Tell us where Momo is!" Hitsugaya yelled.

"Very well, she's right here," Aizen said, snapping his fingers. A box of energy appeared in front of him. It dissolved, revealing Momo Hinamori standing there with a frightened look on her face. Matsumoto returned her zanpakuto to its normal state and Hitsugaya rushed forward.

"Momo! Are you alright? Did he hurt you?" He said worriedly.

"Toushiro…you're alive?" Momo said, tears coming to her eyes, "I'm so relieved, but…" her eyes suddenly widened, as if remembering something.

"What is it Momo?" Hitsugaya asked in confusion.

"Toushiro…please…run away!" Momo said, her eyes wide with fear, "Get away from me!"

"I'm not going anywhere until I'm sure you are safe," Hitsugaya said insistently, taking a step forward. It was only then that Matsumoto felt the difference in Momo's reiatsu than what it was before. Her eyes widened in realization.

"Captain, get away from her!" She screamed. Hitsugaya turned to her in confusion, not noticing the bracelets on Momo's wrists dissolving.

"Toushiro…get away from me, fast." Momo said. Suddenly, a whirlwind of energy engulfed Momo, throwing Hitsugaya into the air. He stopped himself, his ice-wings shielding him as he floated in mid air.

They all watched as smoke surrounded Momo. Through the smoke, they could see her outline changing. She grew taller. Her muscles swelled. Her hair became longer.

"M-Momo…?" Toushiro said in uncertainty. Suddenly, a bolt of lightning came out from the smoke and struck him in the side, creating a large smoking wound. His ice-wings crumbled and he fell; pain, shock, and betrayal etched into his face.

"Captain!" Matsumoto yelled. She ran and caught him. Orihime immediately set up a healing area around him. The others stood around them as the smoke cleared, facing Momo.

Finally, Momo was visible to them. She was nearly a foot taller now and she wore a tattered black cape. Her shirt covered only her chest, revealing powerful muscles on her stomach and arms. Her hair was long, black and flowing, reaching down to her waist. Her eyes had taken on a reddish hue.

The others stared in horror at what their friend had become. She grinned ferally at them, "Shall we begin then?"

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Thanks for reading! The climactic battle begins! Thank you to momo hitsugaya, Kazeek, ccccookie, iceypeach, animefan615, Snowy Peach Tsubasa, blackshadowonthemoon, killerbunny78, and darklover.

This is it. The absolute pinnacle of excitement for the entire story is next chapter. I foresee it as being three thousand to five thousand words long. This is the big one. If you want it to come soon, then I suggest that everyone who can reviews. So please review! In reward, you will get a heart pounding, shocking, amazing climax next chapter!


	33. The Ultimate Battle

I do not own Bleach

A/N: I have worked harder on this chapter than any other (3,558 words!), so please review after you've read it. So without further interruptions, here it is, the climax of Rising!

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**Chapter 33**

_The Ultimate Battle_

Ruby paced restlessly around her room in the Fourth Division. It was mid-morning, the day after she had first woken up. Unohana had successfully implanted the device in Ruby's head. She now felt none of the pain that she had from her conditioning. She should have been very happy, but she couldn't help but feel anxious.

Right after Ruby had woken up after surgery, Unohana was called off to an emergency Captain's meeting. When she returned an hour later, she had a very grim look on her face. She refused to tell Ruby what was happening and checked Ruby's head in silence before declaring the operation a success and walking out of the room. Ruby was very worried. Something had clearly gone very wrong while she was out, but what?

Ruby wished that she were allowed to go back to her apartment, but she was restricted to this room for now. She wanted desperately to know what was happening. After pacing for a long time, she stopped when she heard voices at the door. She crept over and placed her ear to the door. She recognized one of the voices as Iemuro, the other was probably a lower seated officer.

"…but to go to such lengths?" she heard Iemuro say, "They freed an arrancar and left without permission, why send captains to rescue them?"

"They only wanted to save their friend, its just as well they go now, the final battle with Aizen will occur soon enough anyway, it had might as well be now." The other shinigami said.

"Vice-Captain Hinamori may be a valuable asset, but she's not worth prematurely engaging Aizen. We don't even know if she's still alive, so why risk more lives?" Ruby froze as she heard Iemuro speak these words.

He had done it. Aizen had captured Momo. Ruby backed away from the door, tears welling up in her eyes. Momo was probably being tortured right now. Or worse, Aizen may have already carried out his plan to cross Momo with a hollow. Ruby shivered at the thought. The last she had known, such a move was only in the planning stage, but she wouldn't put it past Aizen to put the plan into effect early. Ruby knew that she had to get to Momo as soon as possible. She knew things about Las Noches the others didn't, and she would be needed for them to succeed.

But how? She was confined to this room and had no access to the garganta. She was determined though, and she would do everything she could to reach Momo.

--

Renji, Ichigo, Grimmjow, and Matsumoto were standing in front of Momo, too shocked to move. Behind them, Orihime continued to heal Hitsugaya. Hitsugaya was conscious now and nearly healed. He was looking at Momo with wide eyes, seeing the girl he loved be in such a state made his heart feel as if it were splitting in two. Her long black hair; her taller more muscular body; her sharpened facial features and eyes. None of it was of the girl he loved. Aizen watched the scene from atop his throne, smiling at his handiwork.

"M-Momo please, we don't want to fight you," Renji said. Momo maintained her feral grin. She raised her hand and charged crimson energy in her palm.

"Then I guess I'll have to persuade you," she said, releasing the powerful blast at Renji. Renji only just managed to shield himself from it; the edges of his robes were scorched from the heat of the powerful blast.

"Cero…" Renji panted in disbelief. Momo laughed harshly.

"Yes, a cero. In case you haven't figured it out, I am now the perfect combination of hollow and shinigami. I am far greater than any of you." She said, her now-black hair being blown by the energy coming from her, making her appear quite demonic.

"Momo, please!" Matsumoto begged, "This isn't you, you're being manipulated by Aizen! We're your friends, you can't possibly be serious about attacking us!"

"Oh, but I am serious," Momo cackled, raising her arm and extending her forefingers. Bluish sparks danced around them, followed by a huge blast of lightning that hit Grimmjow in the center of his chest. He staggered backwards, electricity still dancing over his wounds.

"Grimmjow!" Ichigo yelled. Despite his past hostilities, Grimmjow had helped them to come here and was therefore a part of their group. Ichigo would not allow him to die.

"Inoue, I'm fine," Hitsugaya suddenly said, "Go heal Grimmjow." Orihime nodded and rushed to heal him, dragging him to the corner out of harms way. Hitsugaya walked forward, his zanpakuto drawn.

"Momo I'm begging you, stand down and let us take you back to Seireitei," he said desperately, "I'm sure that they will be able to fix you if you just give us a chance."

"Fix me?!" Momo shrieked in laughter, "There is nothing to be fixed!"

"I see," said Hitsugaya sadly, "I've failed in protecting you Momo. Just know that I love you Momo." Tears leaked from his eyes. "But you're no longer the girl I fell in love with! I can't let you continue this way! You clearly will never return to your old self. I'm so sorry Momo, but you have left us with no choice but to kill you." Tears were flowing down his cheeks now, as he prepared to fight the girl he loved to the death. He turned to the others, "Do you guys understand what must be done?"

"Yes Captain," Matsumoto said, tears in her eyes as well.

"Yes sir," Renji murmured.

"Very well," Ichigo said solemnly.

"Ha! You beat me?" Momo laughed, "Impossible, I am far superior to you fools! I easily surpass your combined strength! I will kill you all!"

"I'm afraid we'll have to stop you then," a voice said. All eyes turned to see Ukitake and Byakuya.

"When did you guys get here?" Ichigo said in confusion.

"Soul Society sent us to assist you. We heard everything. We know what must be done," Ukitake said gravely.

"Well it would seem that the number of opponents has increased," Aizen said, "I have full faith in dear little Momo's abilities to defeat you all, but some of my other minions need practice." He snapped his fingers, and Ichimaru and Ulquiorra appeared. Ichigo grabbed Hitsugaya's arm.

"You face Ichimaru. You and I both know that you can't fight Momo," he whispered. Hitsugaya nodded. They walked forward.

"It's nice ter see ya again Captain Hitsugaya," Ichimaru said mockingly. Ichigo and Ulquiorra silently faced off. There was a tense silence throughout the throne room. Suddenly, it erupted into the noise of battle.

"Wave become my shield! Thunder become my blade! Sogyo no Kotowari!" Ukitake shouted, his blade separating into two.

"Bankai! Daiguren Hyourinmaru!" Hitsugaya shouted, ice wings sprouting from his back.

"Bankai! Hihio Zabimaru!" Renji yelled, a huge skeletal snake appearing.

Ukitake, Renji, Byakuya, and Matsumoto faced off against Momo. She stared indifferently at them, not caring that she was outnumbered. They all attacked at once.

Ukitake crossed his blades, charging a bright flashing light.

Matsumoto put her hand out, "Hadou 33, Pale Fire Crash!"

Byakuya also raised his hand, "Hadou 63, Roaring Thunder Cannon!"

Renji's bankai rose into the air, red energy charging in its mouth, "Baboon bone cannon."

They all fired their attacks. Ukitake a bright beam of yellow light, Renji a blast of red energy, Byakuya a wave of yellow energy, and Matsumoto a blast of blue fire. They all directly hit Momo, creating an enormous explosion that caused smoke to engulf the entire room. There was no way that Momo could have dodged it.

Renji lowered his head. _Sorry, Momo._ Matsumoto seemed to be on the verge of tears. Suddenly they both snapped their heads up. To their enormous surprise, the clearing smoke revealed that Momo was completely unharmed from the massive attack.

"You thought that would kill me? Don't overestimate yourselves!" Momo shouted.

"Enough foolishness!" Byakuya said, "Senbonzakura Kageyoshi!" As he dropped his sword, enormous blades rose from the ground, scattering into millions of tiny blades resembling flower petals.

"Not good enough!" Momo said with a laugh. She began to collect energy, forming it into two glowing pink poles. She held them by the center. She plunged one into the ground, leaving a smoking hole. Byakuya paid no attention to Momo's newly formed weapons and directed a wave of the petal-blades at Momo.

But before they could reach her, Momo sprung into action. She began twirling the poles in her hand so fast that they looked like solid disks of energy. She flew straight into the mass of petals, turning them into molten slag with the energy poles. Byakuya gathered up his remaining petals and launched a multidirectional attack, attacking her from all sides. But Momo was too fast for this to work, destroying the petals in an instant.

Byakuya stared at the glowing pieces of his decimated bankai lying on the ground in shock. Suddenly, Momo was behind him. She stuck one of the poles through his chest and with a swipe of the other removed his arm. Byakuya fell to the ground. Momo looked over at Ukitake, Matsumoto, and Renji, who were staring openmouthed at her.

"What?" she said, dissipitating the energy poles, "It was really pretty stupid of him to try attacking me by himself so don't give me that look." Renji gave a shout and brought his bankai down on her. She caught it with one hand. Matsumoto ran forward, sword drawn, but as soon as she was near Momo wrenched Hihio Zabimaru from Renji's grip and used it to knock her across the room. She crashed into the concrete wall, falling to the ground.

Momo slammed the skeleton snake into the ground and leapt up into the air. As she came down, she drew her fist back and punched the snake skull, shattering it. In an instant she was behind Renji. He attempted to throw a punch at her, but she was impossibly fast and strong. She caught Renji's fist and with a mere flick of her wrist, broke his arm in half. She brought her other fist down on Renji's head, and she heard his skull crack from the blow. He fell to the ground.

Momo turned to Ukitake, her feral grin wider than ever, she now truly appeared deranged. Ukitake raised his swords defensively. Momo laughed and raised her two forefingers. Electricity danced around them and there was a glowpoint at the tip. She launched an enormous blast of electricity, but it didn't hit Ukitake. Ulquiorra, who had fought Ichigo to a stalemate, was standing with a large smoking hole that went straight through his stomach. He collapsed to the ground.

"Hey Ichigo, come over here!" Momo yelled, "I want a turn fighting you." Ichigo clenched his teeth; he did not like people who killed their own allies, even if they were an opponent. Ichigo flash-stepped to Byakuya, Renji, and Matsumoto, taking them over to Orihime. He then flash-stepped next to Ukitake, prepared to fight.

Momo grinned and outstretched her hands, using energy to create two seemingly normal blades. This was deceiving, for although they were not glowing or exhibiting any other effects, they were heavily sharpened by her reiatsu and were able to be swung up to twenty times a second. She held the two blades in fighting position, the same manic grin on her face as her black hair whipped around in the wind from the energy she gave off.

They attacked. Momo repelling their attacks with ease. She was striking at the rate of twenty times per second. Ichigo and Ukitake were some of the fastest shinigami alive, yet they could barely keep up. Momo moved faster than the eye could see; an ordinary shinigami would be dead in less than a second. As it was however, Ukitake was one of the oldest, most experienced, and most powerful captains. Ichigo had one of the fastest bankai in existence and was immensely powerful. If not for these facts, they would surely be dead. They were able to defend themselves, but this would end badly if this kept up.

Hitsugaya watched Ichigo and Ukitake struggling against Momo out of the corner of his eye as he fought Ichimaru. They needed his help. He fought Ichimaru as if in a trance. All he could think about was the sight of Momo, the girl he loved, the girl he had always protected, viciously attacking his comrades. She had already critically injured Renji, Grimmjow, Matsumoto, and Byakuya. He wasn't sure if he could kill the girl that he loved, but he knew he had to try. Momo had to be stopped. _No, _he told himself, _That's not Momo. Momo was a sweet and gentle person. I don't know what to call it, but whatever it is, that is not Momo._

Gin Ichimaru, despite being unreleased, was fighting on equal ground with Hitsugaya's bankai. Hitsugaya needed to turn the fight around fast. An idea struck him. He stabbed the ground with his bankai, and ice spread across the surface of the ground all around them. Ichimaru's footing slipped on the slippery surface, and Hitsugaya took the opportunity to attack. He rushed forward, his feet covered in ice claws that allowed him to grip the ice on the ground. His sword thrust forward, slicing Ichimaru across his left shoulder. Ice formed along the wound and Ichimaru jumped backwards.

"Clever move. Yer a bit stronger than last time," Ichimaru said, brushing the ice away from his shoulder, "But don't get too full of yourself. Bankai, Shinso." He tossed his zanpakuto into the air. It began to glow white, hovering for a moment before an exact copy of it appeared next to it. Then another. And another. Soon, there were twenty Shinso's hovering in the air around them. Gin's ever-present smile widened.

"I'll take it easy on yeh, Capn' Hitsugaya," Ichimaru said. One of the hovering blades glowed and shot out at high speed at Hitsugaya. He just barely dodged it; it was even faster than his shikai. However, as soon as he dodged it, it bent at an angle, following him. Hitsugaya used his wings of ice to fly into the air as the blade chased him, maneuvering so that it always followed his movements.

Suddenly, two more Shinso's shot out, creating an 'X' in mid-air, blocking Hitsugaya from flying further. The blade that had been following him hit him, creating a deep gash in his side. Hitsugaya put his hand to his wound. He knew only basic healing Kidou, but he was able to stop most of the bleeding. The Shinso blades withdrew, and Gin laughed.

"Yeh understand now? Yeh can't beat me!" He said. Hitsugaya gritted his teeth and flew at Ichimaru. Five shinso blades shot out at him, but he dodged them as he went for Ichimaru. Ichimaru Shunpoed to where Hitsugaya had been moments before. When Hitsugaya turned, he saw all twenty Shinso's glowing and pointing at him.

Hitsugaya's eyes widened. There was no way that he could do this… His gaze trailed to the other side of the room, where Ukitake and Ichigo were fighting a losing battle with Momo. He gritted his teeth. An idea struck him. A dangerous and stupid idea, but the only idea that would work. He spread his ice wings and took off. Ichimaru smirked at him.

"Stupid lil' Captain," he muttered. The Shinso's shot off after him. He barely avoided them as he flew. The blades spread out, attempting to create a net around him, but he was ready for this.

"Thousand year ice prison!" He shouted. Columns of ice rose, trapping eight of the Shinso's in ice. They fell to the ground useless. The rest of the Shinso's spread out, attacking him from all sides. Hitsugaya raised his ice wings, slowing, the impact of two of them just enough for him to freeze them. The others continued to pursue him, darting around, trying to catch him off guard. One of them came right at him, but at the last moment, he raised his blade and the Shinso hit the edge. It became encased in ice.

Hitsugaya decided that he had taken out enough of them to implement his plan. He flew directly at Ichimaru, the blades following him. When he was fifteen feet away from Ichimaru, he stopped abruptly. One of the blades speared through his stomach. Ichimaru smirked in victory, but then realized that the blade wasn't stopping. The last thing he would see was his own blade heading straight for his face.

Shinso disappeared and Ichimaru fell to the ground, bleeding from a hole going straight through his head. Hitsugaya stumbled, but quickly ran to assist Ukitake and Ichigo. They were fairing poorly. They were both breathing heavily and bleeding from minor wounds. Hitsugaya jumped into the battle just in time to block a blow that would have otherwise struck Ukitake.

Momo smirked. "So you've decided to join us, dear little Shiro-Chan. For you, I'll even fight with my full strength." Suddenly Momo became so fast that Hitsugaya could barely see her. The two blades she held in her hands were striking out at them dozens and dozens of times per second. Before he had even realized what had happened, Ukitake had fallen. Moments later, Ichigo collapsed to the ground. It was only Hitsugaya and Momo now.

Hitsugaya guarded the best he could, but in less time than it took to realize the fact, one of Momo's swords had slashed him across the chest and the other had gone through his stomach. He collapsed to the ground, just barely conscious. Momo's swords dissolved as she stood triumphantly over him. She held out two fingers and charged electricity at the tips, creating a glowpoint of bright blue energy. Static jumped around her fingers.

"Momo…please…I love you," Hitsugaya said. Momo faltered for a second before resuming her stance.

"That is too bad. Goodbye, Toushiro Hitsugaya." She aimed a lighting blast right at his head.

"Momo! No!" Someone shouted. The next thing Momo knew, someone was embracing her. It was Ruby.

"Don't do this Momo, this isn't you! You love Captain Hitsugya!" Momo tossed Ruby off with her free hand.

"Don't be ridiculous, I no longer feel love," She said coldly, continuing to point the charged energy at Hitsugaya.

"But you do," said Ruby as she pulled herself up off the floor, "You have been manipulated and twisted by Aizen. Do you really think he has your best interests at heart? Don't kill your love! Aizen forced me too… and I'll never be able to look myself in the mirror again. Don't let him force you into it." Ruby said, tears trickling down her cheeks. Momo's expression softened, and she lowered her finger just an inch.

"Hadou number three, Hornet's Sting," Aizen said suddenly, breaking his silence during the battle. A small dart-like blast of yellow energy hit Ruby, bringing her to the floor. "Momo doesn't need love. If she can handle this task, she will acquire near-limitless power."

Momo seemed to consider it for a second, Hitsugaya looking up at her pleadingly. Her eyes suddenly turned back to their normal brown color, losing the red tint. Her long flowing hair returned to its chocolate brown color. Her clothes returned to their ordinary colors. Her shirt was gray again and her cape pinkish purple on the inside. It was no longer tattered.

Momo spun around and shot the blast of lighting at Aizen. A huge crack of thunder echoed throughout the room as the lightning hit the giant throne. Aizen suddenly appeared on the ground at the base of his throne, his features cold.

"So be it," he said, drawing his sword.

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Thanks for reading everyone! This was the climax of the story, and from my point of view, the best chapter yet. Don't worry, none of the good guys are dead yet. Thank you to Snowy Peach Tsubasa, iceypeach, ccccookie, killerbunny78, blackshadowonthemoon, argella1300, and Kazeek for reviewing!

This chapter was my ultimate creation, my Magnum Opus, if you will. Therefore, I expect lots and lots of big fat reviews! Review anything from the story: Momo's powers, the plot progression, Ichimaru's bankai, the emotion Ruby brought about in Momo, how the individual characters acted, how I did portraying things, how it made you feel, anything! If possible, I'd like everyone who can to review. Please, please, please, please, please, please, please review! I'm sorry if I sound all needy for reviews, but I _need_ them! Please review!


	34. Clash of the Titans

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Chapter 34

_Clash of the Titans_

Aizen drew his zanpakuto. "This is unfortunate, you would have made quite a useful servant. It can't be helped I suppose…" Momo stared back with determination.

"You're going to pay for what you've done to everyone here, Aizen," Momo said, glancing over her shoulders at the others. She shunpoed over to Ichigo, Ukitake, Toushiro, and Ruby; quickly taking them over to Orihime. Orihime gave her a look that suggested that she was both relieved that Momo was back to normal, and still somewhat afraid of her. Ruby set them down; they were unconscious but alive. Orihime had partially healed most of Grimmjow, Renji, and Matsumoto's injuries, and had managed to reattach Byakuya's arm. She was extremely tired from healing so many people though, and had only healed the most vital injuries.

"I'm so sorry Orihime; I'll make Aizen pay for making me into that," she said to Orihime. A slight smile flickered across Orihime's lips; she wasn't afraid of Momo anymore. Momo turned to Hitsugaya. She focused her reiatsu towards him, bringing his life force back.

Hitsugaya looked upon Momo. She was in her bankai form, making her look quite different from how she normally looked. She looked less like a girl, and more like a woman. She was taller and had long hair. She seemed to radiate elegance and grace.

"Momo," he managed to say, "you look beautiful." He mentally cursed himself; this wasn't exactly the best time to be discussing such things, but while he was thinking this, Momo leaned in and kissed him. Toushiro's eyes widened for a second before sliding shut in happiness. Momo's lips slowly left his and they stared into eachother's eyes for a moment.

"Toushiro, I love you. I'm sorry for what I did to you," she said. Toushiro smiled.

"I love you Momo, I could never hold that against you," he said.

"Thank you, Shiro-Chan," Momo said, tears in her eyes, "Now if you'll excuse me, I need to go finish it." She gave him one more kiss and shunpoed back to Aizen. Orihime put up a barrier in front of the injured so that they would be protected.

Momo stood tensely in front of Aizen, "You didn't take advantage of my evacuating the injured," she stated. Aizen merely smiled at her.

"I did not need to. I will kill you with ease. I can wait until later to dispose of them," He said.

"Do not be so arrogant," Momo said, "Thanks to my powers, I have become immune to the effects of your zanpakuto. I am more powerful than you now." She held out her hand and a sword materialized in it. She launched herself at Aizen, bringing the sword down on Aizen.

Aizen easily blocked it. He struck back with equal power. Momo cut at his side, but he blocked and performed his own attack, nearly cleaving Momo in two if not for her blocking it at the last minute. They were soon in a flurry of blade movement, neither side gaining ground. Momo attempted to take Aizen off guard, releasing a fistful of pink flames, but just as she did so, a black disk of energy appeared in front of Aizen, blocking it. Momo leapt back in surprise.

"How…?" she said in shock. Aizen again smiled evilly at her.

"Dear little Momo, surely you didn't think that I wouldn't use the tecnique I used on you on my self, did you? Especially after the hollowification of you was so effective," Momo's eyes widened, "And let me tell you this," he continued, "My illusions may be gone, but I now have newer abilities, for example…" he made a sweeping gesture with his hand, and ten new Aizen's appeared. Momo instinctively knew that these were not illusions, but actual Aizen copies.

Momo gulped as the ten Aizen duplicates advanced. She held out her left hand and summoned one of the glowing pink poles she had earlier used on Byakuya. She held her sword in her right hand and the pole in her left. The duplicates charged. Momo swung the pole from the base at them, and to her surprise, the two that she hit seemed to disappear. She smirked, thinking that maybe they really were illusions, when she felt a sharp pain at her shoulder. One of the duplicates had slashed her there, and blood came out. She swung her blade upwards, destroying it; these duplicates may be able to harm her, but they were nowhere near as powerful as the real Aizen.

Momo gathered reiatsu particles and focused them on her wound, filling in the flesh that had been cut away. It glowed for a second before fading to normal skin. She turned her attention to the remaining duplicates, taking them out with the pole and her sword in moments. She decided to stop messing around. She turned the pole into a whip of pink fire, swinging it at his feet and setting him off balance. Then she pointed her forefingers at Aizen, preparing to blast him with the lightning. When she released the power in her fingers though, all that came out were a few feeble sparks.

Momo froze in shock. She couldn't do it…the lightning must have only been fully accessible when she was being consumed by her darker emotions. Aizen took the opportunity and attacked, Momo raised her sword to defend but was too late. Aizen had slashed her left shoulder, cutting down to the bone. The only think that kept her arm from being completely amputated was her blade, which just stopped the momentum of it. She shakily pushed his blade away from her, attempting to deliver a blow to his chest.

But Aizen had gained the advantage, and he wouldn't give it up so easily. He maintained his offensive, and Momo was only able to defend herself, having no opportunity to attack. She was beginning to lose her battle composure, which gave Aizen more opportunity to attack. After some time, Momo was finally able to escape from the situation, leaping backwards. She was tired. Previously, she had been attacking on instinct, but now, although she still had the powers, she no longer had the depth of control over them.

Aizen suddenly formed a mass of black energy in his hand, he launched a blast of energy at Momo. It looked like a black storm cloud traveling at high speeds. It hit Momo in the chest, and it's evil seemed to permeate her body, hurting her from the inside out. Smoke from the attack was rising from her skin, and she could tell that several organs had been damaged in the attack. She clenched her stomach in pain. She kept her sword raised nonetheless, and rushed at Aizen with an overhead blow. This was a foolish move, as Aizen released a wave of energy at her, throwing her against the wall. The wall cracked and she fell to the ground panting.

It was useless. Despite her new powers, despite being given hollow strength, she was no match for Aizen. He clearly was not only more powerful, but more experienced than her. She wanted nothing more than to defeat the man who had hurt her and others so badly. But she couldn't. She'd might as well give up now… But wait, if she gave up, the others would be killed. She wouldn't allow that. They had come to save her, she couldn't let them be injured because they helped her.

Momo suddenly felt rejuvenated, as if energy were flowing into her. She would defeat Aizen. If she didn't, the people who had come to help her would die. She would not allow that. She stood up, her eyes filled with determination. She faced Aizen. He merely laughed.

"You don't learn lessons very well, Momo," he chuckled, "Very well, I suppose I could repeat this lesson." With that, he once again prepared to launch a black, cloudlike burst of energy at her. Momo was ready. With strength and determination not there before, she concentrated her reiatsu onto her hands, making her skin as hard as armor. She drew her hand back and struck the approaching mass of energy with the backside of her hand, reducing it to a wisp of smoke.

Aizen seemed mildly surprised, and launched another blast at her. Again, Momo harmlessly batted it away. Her eyes glowed with power, and five pink balls of energy emerged from under her cape. They floated docily in the air for a moment before, at Momo's mental command, they rushed forward at Aizen. They shot up in the air and came down upon Aizen, creating a massive explosion.

Momo shunpoed into the smoke, aiming a powerful sword blow at Aizen neck. Amidst the smoke, Aizen raised his blade to block her, but the momentum of her attack caused his sword to lurch back. Her blade lightly grazed his cheek. Momo leapt back, her sword at the ready for another strike. Aizen was not focusing on her however.

Aizen shakily raised his hand to his cheek, lightly touching the tiny cut. He withdrew his hand, his eyes wide as he saw the small amount of blood on his finger. His face lost all of its subtle and mocking qualities. He was angry. Nobody had ever drawn blood from him before. Yet Momo had done just that. He swung his sword through the air, and from the tip emerged three whirring disks of black energy. They flew at high speeds towards Momo. She formed a mass of energy in her hands and threw it at the disks. The energy split into dozens of pellets that hit the disks at odd angles, causing them to spin out of control.

Momo swung her blade down, focusing her energy along the tip before releasing it. She based this move on Ichigo's Getsuga Tenshou, which she had seen to be very effective. A crescent of pink energy was sent at Aizen. He blocked it with his hands, but the energy soon released itself in an explosion.

Moments later Aizen came staggering out of the explosion. His clothing was burned and tattered. He looked upon Momo with a look that conveyed pure fury. He launched himself at her, black energy seeming to trail his every movement as he completely slipped into his powers. Momo did likewise; pink energy engulfing her body as she attacked. They fought with unbelievable fury and speed. Their bodies were alight with energy. From a distance, they appeared to be pink and black masses repeatedly clashing with eachother.

Momo leapt over Aizen in an acrobatic leap, slashing his shoulder midway through a backflip over him. He retaliated with a slash across her stomach when she landed. They both fought furiously, using every ounce of their power. Momo released a blast of pink energy. Aizen released the spinning black disks. Momo threw a handful of the pellet-like balls of energy at Aizen, and Aizen launched a black cloud of energy. Momo shielded herself with a transparent pink screen of energy, Aizen shielded himself with a black disk of energy.

The battle went on, the pink and black masses of energy crashing into eachother and dancing around one another at unreal speeds. Blasts of energy would create explosions, and shields would be raised to block attacks. It went on and on, Momo and Aizen fighting with ferocity that neither had ever displayed before. Aizen had never needed to be so serious and Momo had never had the opportunity to fight so aggressively.

To Orihime, Byakuya, Ukitake, Ichigo, Hitsugaya, Renji, and Matsumoto, who were recovering still, the sight was nothing short of awe-inspiring. They never could have imagined a fight of this magnitude existing. As they watched on, fear for Momo and hope for the possibility of Aizen being defeated were in their hearts.

After a particularly powerful clash, the two were thrown at opposite ends of the room from eachother. They skidded to a stop, breathing heavily. They could not continue this. They each concentrated all energy that they had into the battle. Their bodies seemed to burst into pink and black flames that reached to the ceiling. A burst of wind from the energy nearly blew the spectators away. As the energy swirled around them, they each ran forward, blades drawn as they prepared for the final clash. The two opposing forces crashed into eachother with a blinding flash of light and a noise like thunder.

Smoke engulfed the room. When it cleared, the shinigami watching saw Momo and Aizen standing face-to-face in a tense standoff. Then, seemingly in slow motion, Aizen fell to the ground.

* * *

YAAAAAAAAAY!! Momo Wins!! Thanks to my reviewers, shirochanxmomo1220, momo hitsugaya, ccccookie, iceypeach, blackshadowonthemoon, killerbunny78, Snowy Peach Tsubasa, and argella1300! I'd like everyone to look at the reviews by blackshadowonthemoon and Snowy Peach Tsubasa; those are the ultimate reviews. I know that most people won't be giving reviews that big, but I'd like to give special honor to those two. Reading big reviews like that really make me get into writing stories. This story will end on my birthday, Thursday, May 1. Please review!


	35. Victory

I do not own bleach

**Chapter 36**

_Victory_

They all watched as Aizen fell to the ground, Momo standing victoriously over him. A huge dark cloud seemed to have been lifted from the place. Inoue lowered the shield, a teary smile on her face. Ichigo, Renji, Matsumoto, Ruby, Ukitake, Byakuya, and Grimmjow shakily got up. Hitsugaya ran forward. Momo turned and smiled at him.

Just as Hitsugaya reached her, her Bankai disappeared and she turned back into her normal, shorter self. Her shinigami uniform returned and her hair returned to its normal bun. She sighed and fell backwards into Hitsugaya's arms, exhausted by the fierce battle. She smiled up at him and he could not help but smile back.

The others were standing up now to approach her, being mostly healed. They walked up to her, shock on their faces. They were uncertain if she would be her old self again, but after seeing her bright and happy smile, they knew they had their old Momo back. Matsumoto ran up and pulled her out of Hitsugaya's arms and into a big hug.

"You did it Momo!" She said excitedly, a big goofy grin on her face. She wasn't the only one with a smile. Soon, they were all smiling and telling her how great she was. They were all ecstatic at Aizen being defeated. Even Byakuya had a small smile on his face. Momo cleared her throat.

"Um…I'm sorry for what I did back there to all of you, I don't know what came over me," she said.

"Don't worry, Momo, you weren't yourself back there," Matsumoto said reassuringly. Renji nodded.

"That was Aizen's fault, not yours," he said.

"None of us hold any grudge against you," Ichigo said, "And even if we did, I think you made up for it." Momo smiled.

"Thanks guys," she said, "Thanks to you especially, Ruby. If it weren't for you, I wouldn't have snapped out of it." Ruby gave her a sad smile.

"Thanks Momo. I'm just glad Aizen was defeated. He cost us all so much." She said, tears in her eyes. Momo walked over to embrace Ruby.

"I'm just can't stop thinking about him," Ruby sobbed, Momo knew she was talking about Hanatarou, "Its all my fault that he's gone, and now all that I have left to remember him by is this." She held up a strand of black hair that she took out of a small bag in her robes.

"Is that his hair?" Hitsugaya inquired. Ruby nodded. Suddenly, a huge smile came across his face. "Don't worry Ruby, I know how to bring him back." He took the piece of hair and walked over to Orihime, taking Momo with him.

"Momo, lend Orihime as much reiatsu as you can. Orihime, cast Souten Kisshun." Hitsugaya said. They both complied, Momo putting her hands on Orihime's shoulders so as to lend her power. Hitsugaya placed the hair on the ground. Orihime created a dome over it with her fairies, but this time it glowed pink rather than its normal gold. Within the dome, a glowing figure began to materialize. Everyone's eyes widened.

After a minute, the dome of light disappeared, revealing a very much alive Hanatarou. He stirred groggily and sat up. Ruby's eyes filled with tears. She ran up and embraced him in a tight hug.

"Hanatarou! I thought I'd never see you again! I'm so sorry for killing you Hanatarou! I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I'm sorry! Oh Hanatarou, I never want to lose you again! I know that its sudden, but I have to tell you something! I love you Hanatarou! I didn't fully realize it, but now I know! I love you, Hanatarou Yamada!" Ruby burst out. Hanatarou was looking rather confused.

"Wait…what?" he said cluelessly. They hurriedly explained everything that happened. Hanatarou's eyes widened. "So I was…dead?" he said. They nodded.

"I'm so sorry, Hanatarou," Ruby wailed.

"Its okay, Ruby. I don't blame you. Also, I'd like you to know that I've always loved you too," Hanatarou said. Ruby teared up, and suddenly pulled Hanatarou into a deep kiss. His eyes widened in surprise, but soon slid shut in happiness from being kissed by the woman he loved. The others smiled at the two.

Momo suddenly turned to Hitsugaya, she opened her mouth to say something, but then shut it as if unable to voice her intentions. After a moment of awkwardness, she shrugged and pulled him into the most passionate kiss either of them had ever had. Their open lips were pressed against eachother and their arms wrapped around eachother as they kissed with great passion.

"Sorry to interrupt, but we have a problem," Ukitake said. Ruby, Hanatarou, Hitsugaya, and Momo all looked at him with great irritation from being interrupted. Ukitake continued, "The door is still locked and there is no other way out. The stone that the walls are made of are too strong to break through. We won't be able to reach our garganta."

"We could be stuck here for a long time," Byakuya said.

"Well that's just great," Ichigo said irritably, "We defeat Aizen, but now we're gonna be stuck here until we starve to death."

"Don't be overly dramatic, we won't starve to death," Matsumoto said.

"In any case, we must figure out how to unlock the door," Hitsugaya said.

"Oh, and any suggestions on how we do that?" Ichigo said.

"Be quiet, you wouldn't even-" Histugaya was cut off by a creaking noise as the door opened and Yammy walked in.

"Sorry I'm late, what did I miss?" He said. Suddenly he froze, only just realizing what was going on. He blinked stupidly as his gaze shifted from the dead Ichimaru to the dead Ulquiorra to the dead Aizen. He slowly backed out of the room and into the hall. When he was out of sight, running could be heard.

"Well that works!" Momo said cheerfully.

* * *

Thanks for reading! Yay, Hanatarou's back! And he and Ruby kiss! And so do Momo and Toushiro! Thank you to momo hitsugaya, I'm Just Reviewing, ccccookie, argella1300, xXaussie609dancerXx, shirochanxmomo1220, iceypeach, Kazeek, Snowy Peach Tsubasa, Blackshadowonthemoon, and undead majesty for reviewing! Please review everyone!


	36. Chapter 36

Author's Note: Okay this is the last chapter, as well as my birthday, so please review!

Rising

_Chapter 36_

When Momo and the others returned to Soul Society, they were greeted with a deafening cheer. What seemed like every shinigami in Seireitei was there, jumping up and down and cheering. They were ecstatic that Aizen was defeated. It was as if a huge dark cloud had been lifted from the place, making the mood suddenly cheerful and uplifting. Momo smiled at the huge crowd.

For the next few days, Momo was in a daze as she was dragged from one party to another (most of them started by Matsumoto). It was overwhelming to suddenly be the focus of attention for everyone in Soul Society. She maintained her bright cheerful smile as the disorienting mass of people kept on coming up to her and congratulating her.

As she was being ushered off to yet another party, she felt someone taking a hold of her arm and dragging her off. It was Toushiro. He Shunpoed her miles away, outside Seireitei and back to their old childhood home in Rukongai. The place was largely in disrepair, but in the back, a large peach tree was still there, just as it had been when they were children. Momo walked with him, smiling as they sat under the same tree that they had sat beneath throughout their childhood.

"Thanks for helping me out back there," she said.

"No problem," Toushiro replied, "Hows it coming for your captaincy application?"

"Oh, well Captain-Commander Yamamoto says that there are still some technical proceedings to take care of and that I have to demonstrate that I've mastered bankai and not just achieved it," Momo said.

"Don't worry, he won't be able to prevent it forever. You deserve the Captain's spot, and nobody outside of him will disagree. I bet that you'll be Captain within a month," Toushiro said.

"Thanks Shiro-Chan," Momo said, "by the way, why did you take me all the way out here?"

"Ah, that. Well, um…there's something I needed to ask you," he said, standing up and reaching into his pocket. Momo also stood up.

"What is it Shiro-Chan?" she asked. Toushiro bent to one knee and pulled out a small black box. Momo gasped. He opened the box, revealing a beautiful ring with a piece of amber in the shape of a peach at the center and a cluster of emeralds near the top, resembling a leaf.

"Momo, will you marry me?" Toushiro said. Tears of joy came to Momo's eyes.

"Oh Toushiro…Yes! Of course I'll marry you!" She cried as she embraced him, her eyes blurry from tears of happiness.

* * *

Thanks for reading! That's it! This is the last chapter of my first story! I actually cried when I finished writing this! I think my writing has definitely improved in the time I've spent writing this. Don't worry, there will be a sequel. It may be a while because I want to finish my other stories first, but it will be made. Thank you to I'm Just Reviewing, iceypeach, ccccookie, momo hitsugaya, shirochanxmomo1220, aussie609dancer, Kazeek, Blackshadowonthemoon, and Snowy Peach Tsubasa. It's my birthday, so please review everyone!

Now I'd like to honor every person who has reviewed this story. 208

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